Working at the House of Mouse
by CurlyFirefly
Summary: Riley Franklin needs a job, the House of Mouse needs a waiter. When a twist of fate gets Riley hired, she can't believe her luck! But with a sneaky Pete trying to shut down the club, and a table of villains on her case, can she survive her wacky new job?
1. Chapter 1

Working at the House of Mouse

Riley Franklin's the name, unemployed teenager's the game. It's not a pleasant situation. I guess for the average 16 year old, it's no big deal or anything. I mean, it's not like we desperately need jobs or anything. But I'm kinda the exception to the rule. See, my parents needed to save up money so I figured if I get a job, I can help out...and get a little extra moola for myself! Cha-ching. Sounds pretty awesome, right? That's what you think.

After a long day full of rejection I had to admit, things weren't exactly going my way. Finding myself in the middle of the park, I sat on a bench, laying down my somewhat crude resume next to me. Downhearted, crushed, desperate. They all described me. To a 't'. It seemed hopeless. I went to every place I could think of, traveled all around town, only to find nothing. Even now, sitting alone as I was on the park bench, the stars were shining and the moon rising. The sun had dipped beneath the surface a few hours ago. I had wasted a perfectly good Saturday, dawn to dusk. Literally.

I huffed, resting my chin in my hands, and them in turn on my knees. I looked down for a second and cringed.

"Maybe it _wasn't_ such a good idea to wear rainbow socks today..." I thought. And maybe it wasn't. I mean, if I wanted to be taken seriously, I had to look mature. Which was something I both physically and mentally struggle with. I'm too much of a kid. My mom always said otherwise. She called me "expressive". But that's what she's supposed to say. She _is_ my mom after all. I, however, know what I'm talking about. Compared to most of the girls in my grade, I'm definitely an oddball. I'm the only one who hasn't had a boy friend, I hate wearing make-up (I only do 'cuz my mom makes me), and I have zero interest in sappy romantic vampire books. Instead...well, I'm getting off the subject.

As I was saying, I was sitting there, alone on a bench, staring up at the stars twinkling in the sky. Goosebumps were beginning to crawl up my forearm as the temperature started to drop. I was thinking that I should probably start getting home, when something about the stars caught my attention. It was quick, a silver line dashed across the sky then was gone. Maybe it was the comet, or maybe it was my own imagination, but to this day I'm still not sure what made me do it. I stood, looked up at the sky and said,

"C'mon. I just need this one shot. I'll do almost anything, just please, give me a chance, Big guy."

Nothing happened. I stood there, watching the sky for any kind of sign, but none came. Suddenly, there was a strong breeze. I heard a rustle and turned around, only to find that my resume was being carried off!

"No! No no no no!" I whispered and chased after it the best I could, my dark hair streaming around me. I ran down the cobblestone path of the park and prayed that the paper wouldn't get caught in any of the branches of the old oak trees lining the way. No matter I how fast I ran, the darned thing always tumbled away. Finally, I was within arms reach of the paper. I stretched out my arm, my fingers extended. I was close enough to brush the corner of the sheet. Then, as if the wind was toying with me, a final gust carried the paper away. Out of reach and out of sight.

I stopped and stared after it. One last quiet "no" escaped my lips. I huffed, stomped my foot and groaned. After all that trouble! After walking up and down all day only to find rejection after rejection my last hope of finding a job was gone. Literally blown away in the wind.

I slouched in defeat and decided to go home. On the way, I muttered, "Guess it just wasn't meant to be..."

That same night, Riley Franklin wasn't the only person to feel discourage. Sitting in a chair with half-lidded eyes, both from discouragement and fatigue sat the owner of a very popular restaurant located in the middle of main street, USA. His tiny form, normally alive and jovial, was now slack against the back of his chair. His clothes were slightly rumpled and the tip of his skinny tail drooped down to the floor. At this late hour, the club, better known as the House of Mouse, was deserted. Only he and his best friend/ business partner were there, the others had gone home long ago. They sat in silence, facing each other. Mickey looking tired, Donald looking annoyed.

"Aww Donald," Mickey said, "If we can't find another waiter, I don't know what we're gonna do! Ever since the penguins quit, all the orders keep getting backed up. If things keep going the way they are, Pete'll have us outta business before we know it."

Donald only muttered something unintelligible in response. Mickey opened his mouth to ask for clarification, then thought better of it. Something inside told him he didn't want to know. They sat there for a few more minutes before Donald stood up and started to waddle away.

"We should lock up. We'll keep trying tomorrow." he said.

Mickey shrugged and followed, "Well I- I guess you're right."

While Donald went to turn off the house lights, Mickey went to lock the front doors. He shuffled through his pocket and fished out the key. With slow movements he put the key into the keyhole and turned it to the right. Then he jiggled the door to be sure. With a sigh, he turned and began walking away when he heard a strange, exceptionally quiet sound. He froze in his tracks, then turned back to the glass doors. He squinted a little and saw that a sheet of paper had blown right into it. Curiosity got the better of him and guided him back to the front doors. He leaned in and squinted at the sheet, trying to read the heading. It was a resume.

All at once his eyes widened and he fumbled with the key and the lock. Once the door was unlocked he wasted no time in opening it and snatching up the paper. He read it over quickly. He did admit, it wasn't the most genius thing he'd ever read, but hey! They were desperate and this girl seemed up for the job.

"Donald!" he called, "Hold on just a minute! I think I found someone!"

_ God, what time is it?_I awoke to the noise of my phone ringing. I looked to my digital clock. The numbers read 12:03 A.M. Great. Who the hell could be calling me at this hour? I swung my legs over the side of my bed and walked over to my phone. I squinted at the phone. The screen was too bright to look at. Without reading the number, I picked up and answered with a groggy, "Hello?"

"Ah, yes, is this Riley Franklin?" a voice asked on the other end. It was unusually high pitched.

"Yeah, that's me. Who is this?" I said, still half asleep and glaring at nothing in particular.

"I found your resume outside my restaurant," the person went on, ignoring my question, "and it just so happens that we're hiring!"

"Really?" I asked. The prospect of a job snapped me awake, "w-what for? Where?"

"We need a waiter. Are ya interested?" they said.

"Yeah! I mean, yes, definitely! Where?" I answered, a million thoughts circling through my mind.

"Great! How about you come down and see the place? We can meet tomorrow afternoon."

"Perfect!" I said, " Where is it?"

The owner gave me the address and I jotted it down. "Thank you so much!" I said.

"No, thank you! Oh! And one more thing," the owner said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"The only way for you to find this place is to travel through West Point Bridge. Ya know where that is?" he asked.

"Sure," I said, picturing the our town's famous landmark, "But why can I only go through there?"

"Ah, you'll see tomorrow," he answered, " See ya real soon!" Then the line went dead. I stood there, staring at my wall for minutes straight. A slow smile spread on my face and I couldn't keep still. I had a job! Or at least an interview! Still, something was something! I knew I wasn't getting any sleep tonight, so I ran over to my parents room to tell them the good news.

"Thank you!" I muttered at the ceiling, "I won't let you down, you'll see!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day felt like time had decided to take a nap. It was an almost unbearable wait from eight a.m. on. Breakfast, normally quick, was a banquet that seemed to last days on end. When we finished, we took a three week car drive to church, where we sat and listened to a sermon that was bound to last from then till judgment day. I fidgeted constantly in the pew, stealing glances at the clock who's hands refused to move. Why was everything taking so long?

At last, after years of waiting, time finally snapped out of its trance and began to chug along once again. The preacher closed us in prayer and we were back in the car, on our way home. Once there, I changed in record time, keeping in mind that I had to look somewhat serious. In the end I settled on the standard jeans and a t-shirt.

I bolted down the stairs and out the door yelling back at my parents, "I'm-going-I'll-grab-lunch-on-the-way-see -you-later-love-you-bye!" I kept running before they could object. I didn't need them holding me up.

At last, West Point Bridge was in sight. It was an old, stone bridge that has been a part of our town since it's foundation. Yellow-gray bricks made up its support with bigger, gray bricks outlining it. There was a rusted, yet legible, plaque mounted on the side of the bridge that simply gave the town's establishment date. The thing about the bridge is that it had no real purpose. It didn't lead over any form of stream or ditch. It was just there. Still, people could walk over it, not that many did. In fact, it made more sense not to. The road forked to lead people over the bridge, then reconnected with itself immediately after. Most people think there may have at one time been some sort of pond under it, but I tend to side with those that think it's there just for looks. Either way, it was there and it was where I was headed.

In a matter of minutes, I was in front of the bridge. I stood there, staring at the arc which rose a few feet over my head. That's when it occurred to me. In all the excitement, I hadn't realized what the restaurant owner had said. I had to walk _through_ the bridge. In my half conscious state the night before I hadn't considered that maybe I'd heard wrong. On the other side of the bridge there was absolutely nothing. Just a continuation of grass, then the town's fountain and city hall. I huffed then took out the directions I wrote down. I reread them, then bubbled with anger at my stupidity. All the paper said was 'through West Point Bridge, walk two blocks, turn left at Main street, U.S.A.'. I slapped my face with my palm. I couldn't believe it: I had been set up. And I fell for it.

"Oh, God!" I muttered, "Seriously? How could I be so...stupid!" I kicked the edge of the bridge in frustration. Then kicked it again. This was NOT funny. I had been so pumped about landing a job and it ended up being a farce after all. I rubbed my forehead and was just about to tear the paper up when I saw the rusted plaque on the side of the bridge. I did a double take. I was sure there wasn't anything more written on it than a year, but now I could see something etched into metal.

I leaned in to read the minuscule letters. They read:

'If you are determined

to hope for what you seek,

with eyes shut tight step through the arch

then dare to take a peek.'

I almost laughed at the ridiculous verse. Whoever decided to fool me must have known about the poem. As mad as I was, I had to give them points for creativity.

_Unless it wasn't a joke..._

The thought filtered its way in. I sobered up. What if this was real? What if this bridge really did grant wishes or something? The thought was stupid, I knew, but hey. There was no harm in trying. Plus, if it was just a joke then maybe I could look back on that day and laugh at myself. Either way, I had nothing to lose.

I closed my eyes and stepped under the bridge. My hand ran against the stone wall to tell me when I'd reached the other side. It only took a matter of seconds before it came to the corner of the bridge. I stepped through, opened my eyes...and jumped in surprise.

All around me there were buildings. Tall ones. And a sky so impossibly blue it looked painted. Ahead was a paved road with cars driving up and down. One, of which, was driving straight towards me. I jumped out of the way and onto the sidewalk just in time. Looking back to follow the car I saw the bridge, yellow and stony. It took me a second to notice that it looked out of place somehow. Compared to its surroundings it seemed too...real. Everything else looked downright animated, while the bridge itself did not. Glancing down at my hand I saw that even I looked different, more cartoon-ish. My eyes widened.

"No way," I whispered, "I-I must be dreaming." There I stood, staring at my hand for who knows how long. How the hell was this possible?

Somewhere, a clock chimed, which snapped me out of my disbelief. It was almost two. A decision was reached in mind. It was safe to say that this was not normal, but as long as this was my situation, I might as well roll with it. No use dwelling on the unknown.

The directions to the restaurant lay crumpled in my left hand. I reread and followed them, hoping against hope I had gotten this right. Turns out, I did. Just as simple as they were written was how fast I had come to find the restaurant. It was impossible to miss. Right there, in what seemed to be the middle of main street stood an enormous building with a circular red and white sign perched at the top. I almost went into cardiac arrest. The name of the place was The House of Mouse.

No way, there was no way that I was being considered to work at _the_ House of Mouse. A famous club that wasn't even supposed to exist. I gulped and walked to the glass doors. The place was empty, but I found the doors unlocked.

_They must be waiting for me,_ I thought and crept inside.

"Hello?" I called. No answer. I kept walking. "Um, It's me, Riley Franklin. You called me last night. Said you were hiring. I came to see the place." Still, there was no response. I stopped and found myself in front of a dark mirror. My reflection stared back. Unable to resist a bit of narcissism, I leaned in and examined my face. My hair was about an inch longer than usual and my hazels eyes sparkled just a tad. My face looked alien and familiar all at once. Well, at least for a couple of seconds, because before I knew it green flames and a white, spectral face appeared where mine had been. I screamed and leapt back.

"Are you the one we hope to see?" asked the mirror in a deep, monotone voice. My eyes must have been triple their normal size. I tried to answer, but my vocal chords didn't cooperate. Luckily, they didn't have to.

"Aw, stop it! She came here for a job. We don't need you scaring her off!" The owner's voice came from directly behind me. The mirror responded with a nod and disappeared as quickly as it had come. I turned to face the owner.

Mickey Mouse stood there, shaking his head at the mirror, "Really now, we have to teach that thing some manners. Anyways, welcome to the House of Mouse! I'm Mickey Mouse, but you can just call me Mickey." He held out his hand and I shook it.

"Uh, nice to meet you...Mickey," I said, "I'm Riley, but I guess you knew that already. Um, how exactly did you get my resume again?"

Mickey laughed, "It blew into the doors last night! Lucky it did too. We've been lookin' for someone for a while now."

"Oh," I said, "I guess it was pretty lucky. But how did you know about the bridge? I mean, my address is on there but I'm not from...here. In fact, back where I'm from this place is only a myth of sorts. How did you know?" I was babbling. But I couldn't exactly help it at the time.

"Did ya ever stop to think how people from a buncha different places get here?" he asked. I shook my head.

"It's because all around main street there's these gates that lead 'em here. The gate to where you're from is West Point Bridge." he explained, "C'mon, I want ya to meet the rest of the gang." Mickey tugged me forward farther into the club. We walked through its giant interior where a ton of tables stood empty.

"But, if that's true," I asked as he lead me backstage, "then why doesn't everybody know about it?"

Mickey shrugged his shoulders, "Oh, I dunno. No one's bothered to try it, I guess."

"Hmm..." was the only answer I could give. I guess there really was no way of knowing. I was beginning to accept the fact that some things just were. Best not to question it. Suddenly, there came a loud clatter from the kitchen. Plates crashed and metal clanked. A nanosecond later a long, lanky figure came tumbling out, one foot in the air, the other slipping over a rolling pin.

"Aaaahooohooohooooeee!" Goofy rolled forward a few feet before the rolling pin got caught against the corner of a table cloth. The rolling pin halted and sent him sailing forward. He landed and slid into a table.

Mickey sprang forward, "Goofy!"

We ran forward, Mickey leaned in to check on his friend, "Are you alright?" Goofy sat up. His eyes were slightly crossed and he swayed in small circle. A silly smile ran across his face. I bit down a laugh.

"Oh, I-I'm fine! Never better! Ahyuck."Goofy answered, using his hand to stop his head from spinning. He looked over and spotted me. "Who's that?"

Mickey followed his gaze and started, "Oh! Goofy, this is Riley! She's the girl who's here for the waitress job."

"Well, glad ta meet ya!" said Goofy as he stood. He stuck out a gloved hand which I shook.

"You too."

"Goofy works as the head waiter," Mickey explained, "Since we've been short staff he's been doin' the job all by himself."

"I bet that's a lot to handle," I said.

Goofy nodded, "I'll say! 'Specially with all the people we get. But that'll change soon, I hope!"

I smiled, "Me too."

"Well, we better get going! There's some more people I want ya to meet." Mickey said.

I nodded, "Ok. See you, Goofy!"

"See ya later!" he called and stumbled into the kitchen.

Mickey and I kept walking through the club. He chuckled a bit to himself and said, "That's Goofy. There's not a boring minute when he's around."

At last we reached the backstage area. The walls were painted a pastel yellow with different colored doors and turns leading in every direction. To the left there was a cork board with various papers and memos tacked to it.

"Here we are," said Mickey, "Donald! Minnie! Come on out! There's someone I want ya to meet."

"Coming, Mickey!" I heard Minnie yell from farther down a hallway. In about a minute she came out of a room with Donald and Pluto in tow. Pluto was the first to reach me. He conducted a thorough sniffing, circling around my back. I laughed; his wet nose felt cold against my arm. Once he was satisfied he leapt up and gave me a lick.

"Pluto! Down boy!" Minnie scolded, "What kind of way is that to greet someone?"

" Don't worry about it," I laughed, petting the dog between the ears, "I'm used to dogs, and as far as they go, he seems sweet."

"Minnie, Donald, this is Riley. She's here to be a waitress!" Mickey announced. Donald gave me a one-eyed look.

"Are you sure? She doesn't look like much," he quacked. Minnie shot him a reprimanding look, he glanced over at her, "What?"

Minnie only shook her head at him then shook my hand, "Don't mind Donald, I'm sure you'll do a great job. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too" I said. Donald grumbled a greeting.

"So, Riley," Mickey said, "Tell us about yourself."

I was caught a bit off guard. In hindsight, the question was completely natural, something that people ask the first time they meet. But there, at that moment I wasn't sure what to say.

"There's not much to say really," I started, "I'm sixteen. I'm going to be a junior in high school. If you do decide to hire me this would be my first job. I don't have much experience at all." I winced inwardly. That was not a smart thing to say, but I could still save this train wreck, "But I'm willing to learn. And I'm a very hard, responsible worker." There. Crisis averted! Somewhat. I stared at the three characters. Minnie was listening patiently, Donald looked beyond doubtful, and Mickey seemed to be considering my words. He nodded and moved on.

"Do ya have any skills?" he asked.

"Skills?" I echoed. What skills did I have? "Well..." I thought a moment. "I can take orders, I can adapt fairly quickly to anything, I have good communication skills, and I'm a fast learner." There, that sounded good.

"How would you say that you handle stress?" asked Minnie, her eyes expectant.

"Very well," I answered. The more questions they asked, the less apprehensive I became. We stood there for a while, the three characters asking me question after question. I answered them all, some better than others. As I answered, a silent kind of communication seemed to take place between the three of them. It was subtle, a look here, a nod there, some eyebrow raising, but it was still detectable. I didn't know what to think. Finally, it seemed that they had run out of things to ask. The questions were winding down and I felt a strange, mental weariness. I was sure we were done when Donald asked one last question.

"How much do you want a job?" he asked.

Without a moment's hesitation, I looked him straight in the eye and said with a determination that even surprised me, "More than anything. I'll be willing to do whatever as long as I can work."

That seemed to have some kind of effect. The three characters looked at each other. As one they gave one final nod. Something had been decided. I took a deep breath and braced myself for the news. Mickey turned to me.

"Riley," he said, I lifted my brow, "you're hired."

The answer startled me. I literally gave a little jump. Did Mickey just tell me that I got the job? For real? I hadn't expected the verdict to come so quickly. I had thought that I'd probably get a "we'll be in touch." I had thought that a flat out "no" was even more likely, but a "you're hired"? They must have been more desperate than I thought! For a minute I just stood there, frozen and unsure what to do next. I was completely unprepared.

"R-really?" I asked, "I got the job?"

"Yep!" Mickey exclaimed, "When can ya start?"

"A-as soon as possible!" I said, smiling a smile that could have rivaled that of the Cheshire cat.

"Great!" said the mouse, "You start tomorrow at five o' clock sharp!"

"Awesome! I won't be late, I promise! Thank you so much! You have no clue how I'm feeling right now," I said and started making my way to the doors, "Thank you!"

"See you then!" said Mickey, "Oh, by the way, you'll get home the same way you came. Just watch for cars."

"Ok, thanks so much!" Without another word, I left the club feeling lighter than I'd ever felt. I glided down the sidewalk towards the bridge. I had a job! Me! At the House of Mouse! I did it! There was nothing, absolutely nothing that could ruin this feeling.

Grinning, I made my way to the bridge. After feeling certain that no other cars were coming, I closed my eyes and slipped under the arch. On the other side everything was deceptively normal, regular green grass, three dimensional buildings and cars, a lack-luster blue sky. Still, with the mood I was in, the sky could have been dark as night and I wouldn't have cared a bit, because the next day was my fist day at work!

_There! That's done! Thanks for reading, don't forget to leave a review!_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Monday came and went. The usual routine of a school day in June shifted by. Biology first, then English, then Math with loads of summer-minded kids stuffed in between. By the time history rolled around, my mind was completely gone. I sat at my desk fiddling with a pencil while the teacher droned on about the populist movement. The last bell of the day couldn't come fast enough. The thought of waitressing at _the_ House of Mouse hadn't lost any of its excitement. At last, when I thought I'd snap at the group of jerks just to my left, the sound of harsh ringing filled the room. I jumped up and bolted to my locker. Out of desperation my stuff had been packed at least ten minutes before. After pulling out the book that waited inside I ran down the hall.

I shifted my books to my other arm and reached for my phone. The heavy textbooks balanced haphazardly on my elbow. It was only 2:45, but if I wanted to get my homework done AND make it to the club on time, I had to fly. Everything felt like such a rush, I had to remind myself to breathe.

_Take it easy, deep breath, that's it. Climb down the stairs, through the double doors. Outside, warm sunshine. One more deep breath, two blocks then turn left..._

That was the only way to calm my mind. I had to narrate everything, every little thing. Whatever minuscule action my body took my mind explained. Anything to keep me distracted from 5 'o clock. _Pick up pencil, now solve. 3X times 5Y, _until my homework was complete. I rechecked the time. 4:30. Perfect.

I packed up my stuff and shoved it into my bag and left my room. The stairs would take too much time so I slid down the banister and tumbled into the kitchen. My mother stood at the foot of the steps shaking her head. She wore a rumpled sweater and her hair was pinned up, a few loose strands hung down in waves. Her reading glasses were on and I spotted the neon yellow of a highlighter tucked between her fingers. She'd been studying.

A few months ago she decided it was time to go back to school. Now, she was working on her masters degree in God knows what. I always ask, and I always get the same complicated answer.

"Honestly, _mi'ja, _how many times-" she started to say before I turned and started for the door.

"I know, mom. Sorry. But I'm in a hurry! I have to be there by five," I explained, my hand was already turning the front doorknob.

"But what about dinner? You haven't eaten," she scolded.

"It's fine, I'll eat when I get back. Tell dad I said bye!" I was gone. Just as before, I made it to the archway of the bridge and used my hand to guide me the short distance to the other side. I opened my eyes and say the sky was tinged orange-y-pink with the setting sun. A car horn snapped me to attention and I found an annoyed anthropomorphic dog glaring at me through his windshield.

"Move it already!" he yelled and I dashed out of his way with a brief apology. Clearly this middle-of-the-street thing would take some getting used to.

I put the experience out of mind and jogged down the sidewalk until I came to the building. There were already tell-tale signs of the staff getting ready. Outside I caught sight of Max hooking up massive lights that would dance back and forth against the darkening sky. Max looked up from plugging a cable and waved. I waved back and dashed inside. We'd have time to get acquainted later.

"There you are!"said Donald as I walked through the double doors. He was looking up at the stage as Horace adjusted the lights from the projection booth.

"Yep! I'm here! Where do I need to go?" I asked.

Donald pointed backstage with out looking away, "Over there. Minnie's got your uniform."

I turned and walked in the direction he pointed, then heard him holler up at the booth, "No, no, no! Brighter!"

Backstage was another story. Brooms shuffled in and out of rooms carrying anything and everything through the halls. Napkins, plates, chairs, silver ware, pieces of fabric and much more was being carted by faceless walking brooms. In the middle of it all Minnie was holding a clip board and having a conversation over an ear piece.

"Yes, yes, that's great...uh-huh! That'll be 12 dozen..." she looked over at me and waved. I waved back and mouthed the word "uniform". Minnie gave me a thumbs up and motioned over to a green door just at the other side of the hall. I took the hint and opened the door. Inside, there were racks of slacks, shirts, and burgundy vests of every size. It took some digging, but at last I found one of each that fit perfectly and hurriedly pulled them on. I folded my school clothes and stuffed them into a nearby red locker.

Once dressed, I headed over to the Kitchens. Goofy was already there with Gus gathering ingredients to be ready for the rush. More brooms marched around readying everything.

"Well, hey there Riley!" said Goofy, "Been lookin' for ya. Mickey wants me ta show ya the ropes before the guests get here. Ya ready?"

"Sure am!" I said.

"Great! Let's get started," Goofy led me out of the kitchen and to the main dining room. The seats were all ready and waiting for the first patrons to arrive. Whitewashed table cloths covered each table all the way down to the ground. We stopped at one and Goofy produced two large menus from behind his back. He began to teach me the basics. Smile, hand the menus over and give the night's specials. Then give them a few minutes, don't hover, etc., etc., etc.

Then came food handling. He showed me the right way to hold the trays and different tips and tricks to keep the food from spilling. I listened and copied his every move. Well, every move that didn't involving stumbling. After about twenty minutes, my training was complete. And just in time, too. Daisy walked through the dining room.

"It's five minutes to opening," she announced, "People are already waiting outside. Get ready." She turned around to walk back to the front desk, then looked back, "Good luck by the way." I nodded thanks as she left.

This was it! In only a matter of minutes I'd officially start as the newest waitress at the House of Mouse. I looked around the club. Everything was perfectly set up, not a thing out of place. All of the hustle and bustle had ceased and the staff was taking their places. The giant cartoon screen wriggled with static with the club logo standing out from the tv snow in smooth gray.

Then all at once, the serenity of the dining room was broken with the sound of voicing coming through from the lobby. Max had opened the doors and led in a rush of characters. From the Kitchen doors I saw the first few guests trickle through to the tables. That trickle quickly turned into a stream, then a mass. Everyone from the seven dwarves to the hitch hiking ghosts made their way to a table. They sat as both couples and clumps. Wherever you looked, characters sat and talked or found different ways to entertain themselves. Baloo and Little John called to each other from separate tables as Tinkerbell flew between them. Lilo, Alice, and Skippy ran through the tables as Clopin went around chasing them. Ariel sat along with Sebastian and Flounder, pulling a fork through her long hair.

I gulped. Suddenly, the prospect of going out there turned into something nerve wracking. Goofy must have seen the worry in my face. He put a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"Now, you just go on out there and everthing'll be fine," he said, "You'll see. It'll be a snap."

I gave a grin, "Thanks."

"Gawrsh! Looks like everyone's settled," he said, "It's show time!"

He pushed open the door and slipped through. I grabbed a tray and was right behind him. Goofy ambled off to the left and stopped at a very long table which seated all 101 dalmatians. With one last deep breath I started to the right.

I felt eyes on my back as I made my way to a table, but decided not to pay mind. Finally, I settled on a table.

"Hello," I said and handed over a menu. My voice sounded too timid, "Welcome to the House of Mouse. Is there anything I can get you to drink?" Mulan looked up from the table and accepted the menu.

"Yes, thank you," she said, "I don't think I've seen you here before. Are you new?"

"Yeah. Today's my first day," I smiled.

"In that case, hello! I'm Mulan. How about some tea to start?" she said.

"I'm Riley. One hot tea coming right up!" I said and jotted the order down, "I'll be right back."

With that I turned and made my way to the next table. Most of the cartoons were genuinely nice. It seemed that they all came often enough to spot a new face when they saw one because everywhere I went I got asked questions. After getting about ten orders or so, I walked to the kitchen and dropped off the papers. Then I filled up the drink orders and served them to their respective tables.

A system seemed to have worked itself out in the course of the night. Collect around ten orders, go to the kitchens, return to the dining room and drop the past orders off. It was all much simpler than I'd thought it would be. Simple, that is, not easy.

I had just finished handing some orders over to Robin Hood and Maid Marian when-

"Whoa!" I cried as I was lifted into the air. Something had wrapped around my waist! I looked down and saw nothing but gray smoke carrying me up until it plopped me down in front of a table. My rump made contacted with the hard floor and the impacted rattled my head. As I rubbed my forehead, I looked at who the heck had just hoisted me over. My eyes widened. I had landed at table thirteen.

Table thirteen was the one place I had tried to avoid, hoping that maybe Goofy would take it. Apparently, he hadn't.

"So," said Hades in a casual, mocking manner. His smoky arm reformed at his side, "This is the rookie wait staff. How nice of you to drop by." Dark chuckles came from the other's places.

_Oh great,_ I thought as I got to my feet, _puns. _

"Not much of a talker, is she?" cackled Ursula, "What's the matter, dear? Catfish got your tongue?" The table started on a new round of laughs.

_Better that than a sea witch, _I thought.

"Well?" Scar's stony voice came from the end of the table. His killer gaze was locked on me, "We're waiting."

I gulped. Not knowing what else to do, I fell back on the basics of waitressing. Through gritted teeth I recited, "Hello. Welcome to the House of Mouse. What would you like to order? Tonight's specials are-"

"Ooh! Ooh! Lemme guess," Banzai howled, "potatoes, with a side of _fresh meat!"_

"-Cleo's Clam chowder-"

"Oh, I got one, I got one!" said Shenzi, "How 'bout a tender-_foot _steak!"

"-Herc's hundred-pound burger-"

Banzai bounced up again, "Ooh! Do you have any-"

"Are you gonna let me finish? " I pleaded. This was my first night and I had to keep up efficiency, I didn't need this. Something curled back around my shoulder.

"Ccccertainly there's no need to be ssso sssstresssed," I turned my head and found myself inches from Kaa. I cringed. "Jussst relaxx," his eyes started to spiral. That was the final straw. I shoved his head away.

"Stop it!" I snapped and faced the table, "Look. If you're going to order, then do it already. I don't have time to put up with twisted little games. Now, I'm gonna go and take some more orders. If you haven't decided anything by the time I get back, looks like you're going hungry." I was about to duck away when I was hoisted up and thrown back against the ground yet again. Jafar loomed over me, his staff was glowing dangerously.

"You forget your place you insubordinate brat!" he snarled.

Standing to my feet I met his glare with a sober expression. Not angry, but serious.

"I'm a waitress," I said, "not a slave," and walked away without looking back.

It got to me, the way the villains had acted. Not that I expected anything different, mind you, but still. I didn't think anyone had that kind of audacity, to treat others that way. Most of the other guests and dishes didn't even register. The experiences passed through me the way a ghost passes through a wall. Next thing I knew, I arrived at the table that sat Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. My face must have betrayed some sort of emotion because once I had finished with her order, she patted my arm.

"Don't worry, dear," she gave me a knowing smile, "Just keep your chin up. It's not so bad."

"Thanks," I said, " I needed that. One slice of Bibbidi-bobbidi-blueberry pie coming right up."

As I exited the kitchen for the umpteenth time a feeling of dread sank into my stomach. After I dropped these orders off, I would have to go back and face table 13. When the last of the entrees made contact with the table top, I took a deep breath, stood up straight, and made my way back to the villains with as much dignity as I could muster.

The mood of the table had changed drastically while I was away. It had gone from sadistically jovial to utterly lethal. Everyone was silent. Everyone was glaring at me.

"Are you ready to order?" I asked politely. One by one they spat their orders at me and one by one I wrote them down. Once they finished, I nodded, said, "They'll be right out," and left. But not before Hades could pull me back by the collar of my uniform. He held his face an inch from mine. The heat of his flaming hair scorched my face.

"Look, newbie," If looks could kill, I'd have died seven times over, "That was some tough stuff you pulled a while ago. You got guts. But you listen and listen good, you have no idea who you're messing with, kid."

I suppressed the urge to gulp and simply left, looking unfazed. Back in the kitchens I dropped off the order pad on my sheet and waited for the meals to be served. With the amount of bad guys sitting at the same table, there were more than ten orders. I considered that my break. Goofy ambled in a few minutes later.

"Hey there!" he said in his usual manner, "How's everything goin'?"

I forced a smile, "Great. Ju-ust great."

"Swell," Goofy said, "Ya need any help with anything?"

I was about to say no when I realized I couldn't go back to that table.

"Well, since you asked, do you mind dropping off this order for me? I'll take care of yours," I handed him the sheet from my little notebook. Goofy looked it over and his eyes grew just slightly.

"You served table 13? Gawrsh, Riley, I woulda done it!" he said.

"I didn't exactly have a choice," I said, "but it doesn't matter. I handled it." There was no way in hell I was going into detail. I didn't need Mickey finding out about this crap. In the end he agreed to the trade. He moved over to the villains, and I walked over to the seven dwarves.

The rest of the night was uneventful. Eventually, everyone was served and the cartoons played until the show came to a close. Finally, Mickey stood up at the stage and wished the patrons a good night. The guests all rose and made their way out the front doors. Some of the younger ones had fallen asleep and were carried out. I smiled, they were honestly cute. Clean up came after, and Gus kindly let me take some leftovers home.

Outside, the animated sky was littered with more stars than I thought possible. A tiny, sliver of a moon shone in the sky, reminding me of the smile of the Cheshire Cat. That very same smile was the same one I had worn not a day before. I stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the night sky. After the mess I'd just gotten into, I wondered if taking this job really was as great as I thought.

"Hey," someone walked over to me on the curb. I turned. Max Goof looked down at me and settled onto the curb next to me.

"Hey," I said back.

"So how'd you're first day go?" he asked, "Sorry we couldn't talk earlier. I'm Max. I think you know my dad. He's-"

"Goofy," I smiled, "There's definitely a resemblance. It went well I guess."

Max laughed, "You guess? Well did or didn't it?"

"It did. It's just..." I trailed off.

"You didn't expect it to be like this," he finished, "Yeah, day one's always the hardest."

"How do you know?" I asked, "You're Max Goof!"

"Exactly," he said.

I looked him in the face with a confused expression, then we both started laughing.

"You got a point there," I said, "Well, I better get home. See you Wednesday!"

"See ya!" he waved and walked back inside.

I sighed and took one last look up at the sky before starting for home. Thinking back on everything I realized it wasn't so bad. Minus the villains, everyone had been nothing but nice to me from the moment I started work. I had nothing to complain about. As long as I focused on the positive, maybe working here wouldn't be so bad after all...

_Yay! Finished with chapter three! And it's nice and long. What did you think? Good? Bad? So-so? Leave a review and let me know! _

_And on a different note...the rest of the story is going to be mainly episodic, meaning, there won't be some complex plot line. It'll be like reading an episode of the series with each new chapter or so. That's not to say there won't be any story arcs, but they won't be complete stories. Anyways, till next time! Cya!_

_-Daydreamer_


	4. Chapter 4

_Since I forgot to mention this earlier, I'll say it now. Disclaimer: I do not own the House of Mouse series. Or Disney. _

Chapter 4

Back at home my mom was waiting in the living room. Make that, my mom was pacing the living room. Her hair was tousled and her purple bathrobe hung lopsided on her shoulders. When she heard the lock unlatch and the door knob turn, she sprang on me so suddenly I nearly fell back and dropped the leftovers.

"RILEY LORENA FRANKLIN!" Damn my middle name, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"Mom I-" I tried explain, but she didn't even hear me. The anger deafened her.

"Do you know how worried I've been?" she yelled.

"But-"

"No call, no text. You have any idea what time it is?" My eyes flickered over to the kitchen stove. The digital clock read 11:25. I winced.

"I was at work! You knew that," I said.

"But I didn' _know_ you'd be this late." I didn't have an answer. What was I supposed to say anyways? "And on a school night! What do you have to say about this?"

My jaw was frozen in place. I creaked it open, "I'm sorry." My mom only stared at me with an expression of disbelief. If I hadn't been in trouble, it would have been comical. "You're sorry? That's all you have to say? Is this how its goin to be every time you work?"

I nodded, "I guess so."

She put her hands on her hips, "You "guess so". You know what, maybe this job isn't a good idea. It will distract you too much."

"No! Mom, school lets out in about a week. There's no way it can distract me. I'll only have a few late nights. Once it's over it'll be summer and it won't matter. Please mom?" She stood there fuming in silence for the next five minutes. I prayed that she'd actually consider letting me stay. The gears were clearly turning in her head, but just what she was thinking, I could never guess. My mom was like that. Unpredictable. When I thought she'd go one way, she goes the other. When I expect her to zig she always zags. Always.

Finally she took a deep breath, then said, "Alright. You can stay." I smiled my biggest smile and gave her a squeeze around the shoulders. She hugged back, then abruptly broke free. "But I expect you to call me once work lets out, understand?"

"Crystal!" I exclaimed.

"Ok. Now get to bed. It's late." she said.

"You don't need to tell me twice. Night," I answered and dropped the leftover food in the fridge. Crisis averted, yet again.

The next few days went by in a blur of school reviews, babysitting, and decreased attention spans. Wednesday came and went with none too serious of an event. Goofy and I came to an agreement. He offered to take care of table thirteen for the next week until I got better experience. I suspected it was to keep me away from them so they could "cool off". I had no doubt they had complained to Goofy, though nobody said anything to me. Yet something deep down inside knew the villains would never really let that Monday night's events go. Still, I was grateful for the break.

Before I knew it, I found that I had fallen into the swing of things. Sort of. Everything was going great for me until that Friday.

Friday nights were the main event at the House of Mouse. That was when most of the characters would show up and the club stayed open until after midnight. People came in by the droves, it was all I could do to keep up with the orders. Things were already hard enough to handle before _he_ showed up.

While we were busy inside making sure everything ran smoothly, someone was approaching the club. Wearing a white business suit, the jacket of which struggled to cover his ample belly, a figure marched his way to the lit up building. The sound of muffled music could be heard across the block. The giant cat smiled, imagining what kind of trouble he could stir up for Mickey this time. It was the night the rent was due, maybe the pesky little mouse would be struggling to pay. If he wasn't, Pete would think of something else. He always did. He straightened himself and lumbered towards the front door.

Mickey took the stage just as Huey, Dewy, and Louie, were wrapping up their performance. "Give it up for the Quackstreet Boys, everybody," he said. The majority of the patrons clapped in response. When the commotion died down the mouse spoke again. "Alright," said Mickey, "Here's the next cartoon!" The lights dimmed as the cartoon started to play. Mickey sidled his way backstage where Minnie was fussing with her PDA.

"How's it going, Minnie?" Mickey asked.

"Everything's ship shape," she answered. Then she pointed to the screen of her organizer, "Rent's due today. I hope you're ready for Pete."

"Don't worry about thing!" Mickey said, "Got the rent right here." He pulled out an envelope of money from the inside pocket of his jacket, "Ol' Pete's got nothin' on us this time."

"Oh really?" The two mice turned to find the oversized landlord standing over them, "Let's have a look-see." In one motion he snatched the envelope from Mickey's hand. He tore open the top and leafed through the cash. There was enough and he was dissatisfied.

"Read 'em and weep, Pete," said Mickey, "It's all there."

Pete grumbled, "Hmph. So it is."

"Well, if that's all you're here for I got a show to do," said Mickey and turned to walk back on stage. Pete grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Hold it, shorty!" he said, suddenly thinking of a way to mess with the mouse, "On the way in, the club looked kinda crowded."

Mickey shrugged, "Yeah, so?"

"_So_," he slung the mouse over so he was facing a building capacity sign, "This here sign says ya can't have more'dn 375 people. If there's any more, I'M SHUTTIN' YA DOWN!"

"Then maybe you should count them," retorted Minnie, "There's no more than 300 guests here tonight."

"Oh really?" Pete challenged once more only to have Minnie shove a clipboard into his gut. He raised a brow and dropped Mickey to ground, none too delicately. He frowned and took a look at a list of reservations. Minnie was right.

"Really," Minnie answered and snatched back the sheet, "Now if you'll excuse us, we've got a show to do." Pete's face fell as he watched the mice leave. There was nothing he could nab them on tonight. Nada, zip, zilch. Disgusted with himself and his inability to raise hell, he made his way back to the entrance.

Halfway there, however, something caught his attention.

"Ok, one Jumbo Dumbo special coming right up!" He looked and saw a young human-looking toon writing down an order and making her way to the kitchen. She tried to carry herself with confidence but he could smell nerves from a mile away. It was obvious she was new. He'd terrorized the club enough times to know they'd been in the market for new staff. A twisted smile ran across his face as an idea formed in his head. He waited for the girl to duck into the kitchen before sneaking in behind her. He may not have been able to pin anything on Mickey, but a restaurant is only as good as it's weakest link.

"Wow, what a rush tonight," I said to Goofy on a return trip to the kitchen, "I had no clue the club was this popular!" I laid my notebook down on the counter behind me and leaned against a wall to rest my already aching feet.

"Yup! Friday's are always busy," he smiled and piled dishes onto a cart, "Busy, busy, busy!" Goofy placed the last of the meals, an extravagant and terribly delicate souffle, onto the cart. I winced on the inside and stayed on my toes, just in case someone had to dive in and save the food. As Goofy was making his way out, he slipped over a slick spot on the floor where cooking oil had been spilled. The cart propelled itself forward, then tipped back when Goofy failed to let go. The plates started sliding backwards. I dashed forward to the other side of the cart and pulled it back on all fours just in time. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ahyuck. Nice catch," said Goofy, wobbling to his feet. I helped steady him and watched him go. In the three days I'd been there, already I'd witnessed Goofy trip, stumble, and collide with just about everything. It was concerning at first, but after a while you get used to it.

I snapped back to attention and took up my notebook, tearing out the page of orders to give to Gus. I placed the sheet on the turnstile and left the kitchen to gather more orders.

In and out, in and out. That's what a Friday at the House of Mouse felt like. It was a constant cycle that barely allowed for a second's pause. Everything whizzed past. I handed out dishes fast, the guests ordered even faster. It was hard to juggle it all, but not impossible. From what I could tell, things were going well.

Until Pinocchio grew a hundred times his size.

"Agh!" he yelped in surprise when his head bumped against the high ceiling. People gasped and looked up at the enormous wooden boy.

"Pinocchio!" Geppetto and Jiminy Cricket both yelled at the same moment. Pinocchio looked down with a dazed expression. "I-I didn't do anything, honest!"

Since a guest growing to the size of a house was a first for me, I ran over to check this anomaly out. By the time I got there, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were already there.

"What happened?" Mickey asked the wood carver. Geppetto kept staring up at Pinocchio, his mouth slightly agape. Jiminy answered for him.

"I don't know," said the cricket, "We were just eatin' and the next thing you know, Pinoc's the size of a house!"

The three staff characters blinked. "How could this happen?" asked Mickey.

"Beats me," Donald scratched his head and cast an irritated glance at the puppet's oversized shoe. We stood there for a moment. The cartoons trying to figure out how this happened while I was still trying to convince myself that this _did _happen. In the end, it was Goofy who broke the relative silence.

"Gawrsh, maybe it was something he ate." he suggested. Mickey and Donald both looked at each other, dumbstruck, then turned back to their lanky friend.

"Goofy, you're a genius!" Mickey stepped towards the table and examined Pinocchio's food. After a moment he jumped back and screamed, "Mushrooms! From Wonderland. We keep some in the kitchen. Gus musta put some in by mistake." Mickey turned back to the distraught guests, "We're really sorry about all this, fellas. We'll have Pinocchio back to normal in no ti-" Before he could finish his sentence, a sigh and a clatter came from another table.

We rushed over to see what had happened now. At the table we found Cinderella and Aurora, along with their princes, kneeling over Snow White. She was out cold. Before any of us could ask, Cinderella launched into an explanation.

"We were simply talking, having a grand time, when Snow White fainted! The poor dear," she said. Aurora nodded and continued to fan Snow with her napkin.

The other staff and I exchanged glances. We had our suspicions.

"Before she passed out," I asked, "did she do anything? Take a bite of her food? Drink?"

"Now that you mention it, yes," said Aurora, "right before she fainted, I saw her eat some of her salad." Donald looked over the salad and turned back to face us.

"Apple slices," he said.

"Well whada we got here," we turned to see Pete standing behind us. Arms crossed and a cocky grin on his face.

"None of your business!" cried Donald, his feathers puffing out of place.

"'Course it's my business, feathers," answered Pete, "I OWN THIS PLACE!" As the physics of the cartoon world have it, the force of Pete's yell blew Donald back with a short quack. I winced at the volume.

Mickey's face flushed, "Calm down, everybody! Let's get into the kitchen. I think we need to talk with Gus."

Without another word we filed into the kitchen. Did this kind of thing happen often? I thought. It _was_ the House of Mouse, and I _was _still new. But then again, judging by how Mickey reacted there was no way any of this was 'normal'. Then there was the weird way Pete kept smirking, though he was a pretty big jerk.

Once inside the kitchen, Mickey marched up to Gus and then the questions began. While everyone else seemed to understand, I heard a completely one-sided conversation. The thing is, Gus doesn't talk. He literally just honks. There's no real way to really know what he was saying. At least, that's what I had thought. Mickey and the others didn't have a problem.

After a long process of interrogation, Mickey only shrugged and said, "He swears he just followed the orders." The goose nodded and handed Mickey some slips of paper. He was about to read them over when Pete snatched them out of his hand. I gulped. They were sheets from _my_ notebook. Until then, I didn't make the connection of who was effected. Both cases were orders I had taken.

He glanced at the papers and puffed out his chest, "Aha! Look 'ere boys! Looks like one o' these numb skulls screwed up some orders." Mickey's eyes widened and he took back the papers.

"A Jumbo Dumbo special...with Wonderland mushrooms!" he read, then kept going, " Silly symphony salad with...Poison apple slices! Golly!"

"What?" I yelled, "There's no way it says that! "

"How would you know?" asked Pete.

"Because," I said, "I took those orders."

Pete smirked, "Is that a confession?"

I scrunched my brow, "A confession? No! I didn't write that. Er, that's to say, I wrote the order, but I never added the mushrooms or the apples."

Pete's smile grew bigger and he stood taller, "Looks like somebody's got ta get their story straight."

"What?" I asked.

"That there order's evidence," said Pete, " and it's written fer all ta see! Clear as noon!"

"But I'm telling you, I didn't write them."

Mickey cast me a sympathetic glance. I looked right at him. "I didn't mess up the orders, Mickey. You believe me, right?" The mouse looked at the torn pages then back at me.

"I believe ya, Riley. But it's a busy night. Maybe ya got some orders mixed up. It coulda happened ta anybody." he said, which did nothing to calm me down. In fact, it had the opposite effect.

"But I didn't make any mistakes! I remember writing them down. _The right way_."

"Don't wanna come clean, eh?" Pete mocked, "That's not very professional-like."

I huffed. This couldn't be happening. Was the insanity of the night getting to me? No, it couldn't be. I knew I hadn't messed up, but how to get the others to see...

"Gawrsh," Goofy said, "Can I see the orders?"

"Sure thing," said Mickey and handed the paper over, but before he could even get my hand on it, Pete protested.

"Wait!" he yelled, "You're not seriously gonna let him see them?"

"Why not?" I asked, "Unless..." something in my head clicked, "...you've got something to hide?"

Pete didn't answer for a second, then said, "O' course not!"

"Then it shouldn't be a problem," I said. Goofy took the sheet before anything else could be said. He looked it over. The order was written there, just as Mickey had read it, except for two slight discrepancies.

"Hold it!" he said, "She didn't write this!" he leaned down by Mickey's side and pointed at the notebook paper. "Look! See the first order? The Jumbo Dumbo part? The little 'm's are written with three arches. But in the word "mushrooms" the little m has only two."

Pete rolled his eyes, "Pfft! Ya call that proof?"

" Now the second order," he said, " Look at the 'i's. The one in "silly" doesn't have a dot. But the one in 'poison' does." This time, I looked over his shoulder at the sheet.

"Yeah," I said, " In fact, it's dotted with a heart. I don't dot my i's, and never with a heart!" Mickey compared the two halves of each order.

"Hey, you're right!" he said, "Gosh, Goofy, nice catch!"

"Ah, shucks," Goofy smiled.

"But if the writing's different," thought Donald and gave Pete a sharp look, "Then somebody else wrote the second part!"

We all turned our sight on Pete, only to find that he had tip-toed his way over to the kitchen doors. He turned and caught sight of glaring at him and cringed.

"Heh-heh," he laughed, none too comfortably, "Now, don't go lookin' at me like that." Mickey only crossed his arms and tapped his foot . The look on his face said it all. Pete was in trouble.

Hours later, the House of Mouse was calm and quiet once again. The tables were cleaned, the chairs stacked and the brooms were finishing the last of the cleaning. I tied the dirty laces of trusty sneakers back on before heading home.

Once Pete was taken care of (read: thrown out of the club), we took care of both Pinocchio's and Snow White's problems. They were fairly easy fixes, though it did take a couple of tried to get Pinocchio back to the right height. I was just glad that night was over. On the way to the door I caught sight of Goofy folding the last of the table cloths up. I had thanked him countless times between the incident and closing. Enough times, in fact, that he never wanted to hear me say the words "thank you" ever again. Before I slipped out of the club, I waved at him and smiled in one last act of gratitude. He waved back, unwittingly messing up the table cloth. I laughed inwardly and turned to go.

_Sorry if it was kinda rushed! I didn't want it to be, but I have a bad habit of losing patience with myself. Anyway, like it, hate it, critique it, just leave a review. Until next time! Cya!_

_-Daydreamer_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! I don't own anything except Riley and Leo. Sorry if he seems kind of randomly put in here. I meant to write him in a little first, but it didn't happen. Anyways, on with the story!_

Chapter 5

"What do you mean you'll be home _a little late_?" I said into the phone, which was currently pressed up against my ear by my shoulder. With one hand I held up the cookie jar, with the other, I held back my little brother, Leonardo. Leo for short. It was the Friday school let out, but instead of going off to celebrate like everyone else, I had to babysit. Normally I'm alright with it, but today, Leo seemed to have a severe case of ants in the pants.

"I_ mean_," my mom answered, not at all pleased by my tone, "that I'll be home later than I had expected." I bit back a groan. Perfect. It was already 4:15 and Mom was supposed to be back by then. If she didn't hurry up, I'd miss work. Placing the jar on the counter top, I asked, "Well, how late is later? When will you get here?"

The other end was silent for a few seconds. It was a sure sign that Mom was dancing around the point, in that motherly way that suggested she wasn't. She answered, "I'll be getting home around 5:30."

"5:30! Mom, I can't watch Leo that long," I said. All the while, said five-year-old reached around my back and stole a cookie, " I have work."

"Just call and tell them you can't make it," my mom said. I huffed.

"Mom, It's a Friday, the busiest night of the week! They're short handed enough when I _am_ there." I said, "let alone on a Friday."

There was another pause. "Well," she said, "Just take Leo with you."

"Right," I scoffed, " 'cause the boss won't mind. Besides, I'll be working. I'll be too busy to watch him."

"Well, It's either you take him or you call in," my mom answered, "whatever you decide, let me know. I have to go, I'm driving. Love you."

"Right. Love you, too," with that, I hung up the phone and crossed my hands over my chest. Leo sat on a chair munching on his pilfered snack, his brown curls tousled atop his head. His rumpled t-shirt had a cartoon picture of a lion on the front. I smiled. He was absolutely infatuated by lions. Some days he ran around roaring at anything, living and otherwise. Once, he even painted yellow and orange blotches on his face using his finger paints. When we caught sight of him, my dad nearly choked on his drink and mom ran to get the camera.

I sighed. He really was a cute kid.

"Alright kiddo," I told him. He looked up. Crumbs littered his cheeks and I bent down to wipe him, "Looks like you're coming to work with me today."

His eyes lit up, "Really?"

"Yup," I said, " But you have to listen to me. You stay were I tell you to stay and you do what I tell you to do, got it?" He nodded fervently, " Ok then, lets get you cleaned up." Leo sprang off the chair and ran upstairs. I shook my head. I just hoped this didn't cost me my job.

Leo bounced from foot to foot down by my side. I held on to his left hand firmly. We made the journey through the bridge minutes earlier. You should have seen the face he made when he saw the "magic bridge" worked! His eyes widened and he put on a giant smile.

"Whoa! This is so cool!" he gasped. Now we stood across the street from the club and Leo was having trouble keeping still.

"Ok, now," I said, " We're going in. You ready?" He turned to the massive tan building and cocked his head. A second later he nodded with a big smile. I laughed.

"Awesome!" I said and picked up my brother. He locked his legs around my waist and his arms around my neck. With him grappling on to me, I crossed the street and walked through the double doors.

The House of Mouse was just as busy as any other night, the brooms bustled around focused on getting everything ready. In the dining room Donald was having his nightly argument with Horace over the lights. Balancing on my hip, my brother's eyes went wide at the sight of Donald Duck. He got very quiet.

"You know Donald Duck?" he whispered, full of awe.

"Yep," I said, "and Mickey and Minnie, too. Maybe, if you're good, I'll introduce you later."

I made my way over to the backstage area. Minnie was there, as usual, clicking on her PDA.

"Hey, Minnie," I said, hoping I didn't sound nervous. The mouse looked up from her work and her eyes immediately fell on Leo.

"Hello, who's this?" she asked.

"My name's Leo," said the five-year-old. He was quiet, using his shy voice. Minnie offered him a smile which he returned.

"He's my little brother," I said, "My mom won't be home until later and I have to watch him. I'm really sorry about this. I promise he won't be any trouble, right?" I asked him and he nodded.

"It's no trouble at all!" she said, "Just be sure he doesn't get in the way."

"Oh, I promise! He'll stay out of the way. You won't even know he's there." I assured her.

"Alright then," she said then turned to Leo, "You can sit at one of the tables if you like."

Leo smiled, "Ok!" I put him down and led him to the back corner of the dining room. A table had already been set up there and it would be easier to check in on him as I left and entered the kitchen. He scampered onto the chair and sat. I placed a small backpack I'd filled with some crayons, paper, and small toys to keep him busy next to his chair.

"You ok here?" I asked. I wanted to be sure he wouldn't be tailing me the whole time.

"Yep,"he said, pulling out the crayons. He set himself to color a picture, not even looking up at me. I was officially deemed too unimportant. I smiled, relieved, and ruffled his hair before leaving to help set up.

The club had been open for about two hours and Leo already found boredom had overpowered him. He lazily rolled a small rubber ball from hand to hand across the white table top. Riley hadn't checked on him for a little while now, so he had no one to complain to. He sighed and watched his little sphere travel from left to right, then right to left. Not even the cartoons playing on the screen could entertain him. He looked around. There were so many cartoons there! He recognized quite a few sitting at the other tables. Leo saw Aladdin and the Genie, Robbin Hood, Dumbo, and Peter Pan along with countless others. He would much rather play with them than watch them on a giant screen. Leo was so engrossed at seeing his favorite characters that he completely forgot about his ball. He remembered it just in time to see it fall over the edge of the table and roll along the floor. A little bit of panic set in.

_My ball!_ He thought. Leo wanted his ball, but he promised his sister he would stay put. He looked and saw that Riley was talking to Alice, the March Hare, and the Mad Hatter. They were clear on the other side of the club. Surely she wouldn't notice if he slipped out of his chair to retrieve his toy. With one last glimpse at his sister, he leapt off his chair and went in the direction of his ball.

Since I'd left my brother at the back table, there was barely an idle moment between orders. I was constantly going from table to table, then to the kitchen and back to repeat the process. Admittedly, it was more manageable than the previous week. There were no colossal mishaps, and thankfully Pete was nowhere to be seen. Leo wasn't causing any trouble either. In the time I had left my brother, I'd checked on him twice briefly. Both times he seemed preoccupied either with his toys, or the cartoons on the big screen.

At the moment, I was currently taking the Beast's and Belle's orders.

"Alright," I said, "Anything else you would like?"

"No, that'll be all," said Belle. I nodded and closed my notebook when she said, "I saw a little boy here earlier. He looks like you."

I smiled, "Yeah, he's my brother. I had to bring him with me today. That reminds me, I should probably go check on him. Your orders should be out soon." The Princess and the Beast thanked me with a smile and I made my way towards the back of the club. I quickly dropped of the orders in the kitchen and went out to check on Leo.

"Hey, kiddo," I said, still looking back at the crowd, "How's it go-" When I turned my head I found the seat empty. Crayons littered the table top and the bag full of toys was still there, yet there was no sign of Leo. Something seemed to land in the pit of my stomach. Where could he have gone? I told him to stay put.

_Maybe he's in the bathroom!_ _Yeah, that's it. _With that in mind I rushed over to the restrooms. I burst open the door of the men's bathroom, loosing all embarrassment.

"Leo?" I called, "You in here?" I waited a minute and found no answer. "Leo?" I tried again. There was still no answer. "Leo!" His name escaped my mouth one last time, a bit of panic threading through. It was clear that my little brother wasn't there. I closed the door and leaned against the wall between the two restrooms. I put a hand to my forehead. This could _not_ happen. It just couldn't. If I didn't find him soon, my mother would skin me alive. In an attempt to clear my head, I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Riley?" My eyes snapped open. Max was there wearing a concerned expression, "You ok?"

"My brother," I said, "I brought him to work...when I checked on him... he's gone! I have no clue where he is. My mother is going to kill me if I don't bring him home!" The words poured out in a jumbled mess. Clearly my mind didn't find it important to sort out my thoughts before I spoke.

Max gave me another look then asked, "How old is he?"

"Five," I said. Max nodded.

"It's ok, he' couldn't have gone far. You'll find him," he said, "Look, I don't have anything to do for a while. I'll help you." I looked over at the young cartoon.

"Really?" I asked. Max nodded, "Thanks so much! I owe you."

"No problem," he gave a lopsided grin, "C'mon. Let's go check by the other tables."

Leo had run by a couple of different tables before he lost sight of the ball. It rolled underneath a table cloth and disappeared. Thinking that it might have been slowed by the cloth, Leo ran to the table and looked under it. The ball was nowhere to be seen. He huffed and was just about to get up when something large scooped him off the ground. He gasped in surprise.

"Well, now," he looked at the cartoon that had picked him up. Baloo was staring curiously at him, "Whatcha doin', kid?"

"M-my ball!" he said, by way of explanation, "It rolled off my table. I'm trying to find it!"

"Your ball, huh?" said the Bear. Leo nodded and Baloo set the boy down. He gave him another look, "Saw, you look real familiar. Have I seen you before?"

"Uh-uh," Leo answered, "I haven't been here before. My sister brought me. I gotta go find my ball now."

Baloo smiled and ruffled his hair, "Alright, kid. Take care of yourself."

"Bye Baloo!" he said and ran off in the direction he'd seen the ball roll, waving at the bear. Baloo waved back and chuckled to himself. He was a nice kid, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that he reminded him of someone...

Max and I looked all around the club. We'd searched the kitchen to no avail, then decided to check backstage. We yielded the same results. I doubled back and decided to recheck the bathroom. He wasn't there either. Finally, Max grabbed my wrist and dragged me over to the lobby to consult the Magic Mirror.

"Why?" I asked when he suggested the idea, "You think the mirror saw him?"

"Maybe," Max answered, "But the mirror can see more than what's in front of him. It might be able to tell us exactly where he is."

We reached the mirror and Max stood in front of it for a second, then tapped on the glass, "Yo, wake up!" I stood a few feet behind Max, still not completely comfortable around the mirror. A minute later, a ghostly face appeared in a rush of green flames.

"Yes?" he asked in his usual monotone. His face, the only part of him really, betrayed no emotion as it addressed us. If he was ticked at being woken up, I couldn't tell.

"We want to know," I said, " if you've seen a little boy. He's about this tall," I gestured, "five years old, dark messy hair? His name's Leo, he's my brother."

The mirror shook his head, "I have not."

"Well, can you tell if he's still in the club?" asked Max, "It's kind of important."

The Mirror thought a moment, the green flames dancing where the face's eyes should have been. I shuddered. Finally, he spoke, "The boy is still in this building, though exactly where I cannot say."

"Do you have any idea at least?" I asked. The Mirror nodded then said, "The dinning room." I kicked myself. The dinning room, of course!

"Thank you," I said. The face merely vanished and Max and I walked into the dinning room. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at the cluster of tables. Until that moment, I hadn't realized how big that room really was. I lifted my brow. We had a lot of ground to cover.

Meanwhile, Leo was still on the look out for his prized toy. After his encounter with Baloo, he didn't catch sight of the ball. He looked around the floor and under countless tables, and still there was no sign of that ball. A few times he thought he'd see it out of the corner of his eye only to turn and find it had vanished again. As frustrating as it was, however, he was determined to find it. He walked along staring at the ground all the while, utterly unconcerned by the tables or characters that sat around him. It was because of this that he hit his head on the leg of a chair.

"OW!" he exclaimed and sat back rubbing the top of his head. He looked to see what he'd run into. He glared at the chair then smiled wide when he looked by one of it's legs. There lay the ball he had looked so tirelessly for. "My ball!" he squealed and bent to pick it up.

"And what, pray tell, are _you _doing here?" asked a lazy voice. Leo looked up and found himself face to face with a cartoon he was very familiar with. He braced himself and screwed up his face saying, "I'm Leo, and I'm a lion! ROOAAAR!" The cartoon was taken slightly aback by this answer. What did he say to that?

"Yo, Scar, buddy," Someone called from the other side of the table, "What's that kid doin' here?" Leo turned to see who spoke and immediately regretted it. The whole table was full of villains, all staring at him. He was scared and wanted to run away, but he found he was rooted to the spot with fear.

"Uh-oh..." he whispered, clutching the ball to his chest. If he wasn't in trouble before, he sure was now.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen him," said Merlin, "If I do, I'll let you know." Max and I were combing the dinning room, going from guest to guest asking if anybody had seen Leo. So far, we'd covered about a third of the room and still no sign of my brother.

"Ok, well thanks anyways," I said, then walked away with Max trailing behind me. I sighed. How were we ever going to find him? Where could he have gone? I leaned on a nearby table, not caring who sat there. If they didn't like it, too bad. My brother was missing and it seemed as though he disappeared into thin air.

"We'll keep trying," said Max, "He's still here. Someone has to have seen him!"

"Yeah, sure," I said, "We've looked all over the place and NO ONE remembers seeing him. What if the mirror was wrong? What if he di-?"

"Excuse me," I turned to see who had interrupted my rant, ready to tear their head off. Baloo back up slightly as I turned to face him.

"What?" I snapped. The bear looked a bit uncomfortable before asking, "Are youlooking for a little kid? 'Bout this big?" Baloo held his paw level to where the top of Leo's head should have been. My eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh, have you seen him?" I asked, all hostility lost.

"Sure did," said Baloo, "He came by not too long ago. Said he was looking for a ball of his. Nice kid. You know him?"

"He's my brother! I had to bring him to work today. Did you see where he went?"

"Yup," he pointed a claw over my shoulder, "Ran off that way." My eyes brightened as looked in the direction the bear had indicated. I turned back to him and said, "Thank you so much! You've been a big help...and sorry for snapping at you."

Baloo grinned, "Eh, no problem, kid. Hope you find your brother!"

"Thanks," I said and dashed in the direction Leo had taken. Max jogged right behind me.

"Well?" snapped Scar, demanding an answer, "what possessed you to come over here and disturb our peace?"

Leo jumped and paled, his earlier bravery having disappeared. He gulped and stammered, "M-m-my b-ball... It r-r-rolled away. I was l-l-looking for it." As he spoke, Banzai narrowed his gazed at the boy.

"Hey, uh, does anybody else think he looks kinda familiar?" he asked. The other villains blinked and leaned in to get a better look. Unable to get a clear view, a frustrated Kaa looped around poor Leo's middle and lifted him up enough for them all to see. Leo yelped in protest and kicked his legs. "Let me go!"

"Whoa! Calm down, kid," said Hades. Leo stopped kicking and looked at the flame haired god, "Hades, Lord of the dead. Hi, how ya doin'?" Leo only glared back. "Okay, tough crowd."

"The boy does seem familiar," said Maleficent, the gears in her head turning. She turned her attention to him, "Who brought you here?"

"I came with my sister," he answered, getting an idea. He glared at the witch and said, "a-and you'll be in big trouble if you don't let me go." For a moment the table was silent, then they erupted into laughter. This made Leo angry, "Hey! Stop laughing! Riley'll kick your butt if you don't let me go!" The villains did, in fact, sober up at the sound of Riley's name.

"Lemme get this straight," said Hades, "Riley, she's a waitress here, am I right?" Leo nodded. "_She's _your sister?" The five-year-old nodded again. Hades only stopped a moment before grinning a twisted grin. "Why didn't you say so, kid! It just so happens we're friends of hers."

"It does?" Leo asked, his eyes wide. He didn't know his sister was friends with these guys.

"It does?" muttered Pain to Panic. Hades overheard him and knocked him over the head. "Yeah, sure, we're all buddy-buddy and stuff. What I don't get, though, is how come she lets a kid like you run loose."

Leo's face fell a little with guilt, "Oh...well, I was s'posed to stay at my table," he said looking down at the table cloth. "She said I gotta stay out of the way, or she might get fired." At the word 'fired' most of table 13 perked up, getting the same idea at once.

"You don't say," pondered Hades, trying to think what he could do with that tidbit of information...

Panting, I slowed to a stop and rested my hands on my thighs. Max ran up beside me seconds later. I straightened and scanned around the tables. The cartoons that sat either chatted or ate, completely oblivious to our predicament. I decided against ask table to table. It would take way too much time.

"Which way do you think he went?" Max asked, his eyes running over the guests.

"I don't know," I answered, "but he definitely has to be close by. He's small, so we should probably check to see if he's hidden by a table or a chair or something." I knelt jumped up into the air, looking to see if I could catch a glimpse of tousled brown hair. No luck. I landed on the balls of my feet and lifted myself onto tip-toes. Maybe that way I could get a prolonged look. Still nothing. All of a sudden, Max tensed and grabbed my wrist.

"Riley," he said, not looking at me, "you might wanna look over there." My gaze followed his, registering Ariel, Pocahontas, Jumba, the entertainment shell, Leo on the stage, the backsta-_Wait. _I froze. My eyes swiveled back. No. It couldn't be. Not even stopping to register exactly what I was seeing, I ran full speed towards the stage.

"LEO!" The call caught his attention. From where he was hoisted his head snapped in my direction.

"Riley!" he called and ran over holding his rubber super ball. He clasped onto my legs. My arms were instantly around him. I squeezed my brother for a second before breaking away and leaning down to his level. His eyes were level with mine.

"Don't you ever run off like that again! Why did you leave the table? I told you to stay there."

He looked down at his sneakers, like he always does when he knows he's in trouble, "My ball fell off the table. I had to get it back. Please don't be mad." I sighed, Leo's big brown eyes stared into mine. I could understand his logic, and he did look sorry.

"It's ok," I said, "but what you did was still dangerous," Leo's face took on an expression of panic, I continued, "I promise not to tell mom, don't worry. But you have to stay at the table and do _exactly _as I say from now on. Got it?"

Leo's face broke out into a relieved smile, "Yes, sir!" I nodded. "Ok then, let's get you back to your table." I stood to lead him back and he grabbed my hand when I asked, "What were you doing on stage anyway?" He turned to look down at me. "Hades told me to," my eyes shot open.

"Hades?" I croaked. Hades? A villain? My brother talked to the VILLAINS?

"Yup. He said you were friends. Are you really friends with bad guys?" My eyes locked onto his What did he just say?

"Friends?" I asked warily, "You talked to Hades, and he said we were...friends?" Leo nodded. He seemed to be completely convinced, there was no way he made this up.

"Are you ok?" I asked, inspecting his arms and legs, "He didn't hurt you did he?" Leo shook his head. I let out the breath I'd been holding. "It's not true, Leo. I'm not friends with bad guys. Did he say anything else?"

"Uh-huh. He asked why I wasn't with you. I told him I ran off, but I wasn't s'posed to, that you'd get fired if I got in the way." Oh great. Something was up, and whatever it was, it wasn't good. I turned to Max, who'd come to stand right behind me.

"I hate to ask for another favor," I said, "but could you take Leo back to his table. I have something I need to take care of."

Max gave me a knowing look, "Sure, I'll take him back. C'mon Leo! Let's go." The little boy fell in step next to Max and took hold of his gloved hand. The two went off in towards the tables near the kitchen. I watched them for a second before turning back and glaring at the villains. I marched over to their table.

"I swear, if you did ANYTHING to my little brother-" I started only to be cut off by Hades.

"Re-lax! The kid's fine, " he said, waving his hand and making a cigar out of smoke. He threw me an annoyed look and lit the tip of the cigar with his finger.

"You told him to get on _stage_," I said, ignoring him, "What did you gain from that? What if he fell or-"

"You're missin' the point, kid," he glared, "After he spilled the juicy bit about you getting fired 'cause of him, I started to think. So I had the little brat climb on stage and raise hell. Well, try to anyway. He woulda if you hadn't swooped in and found him when you did."

I blinked, "So, you tried to get me fired."

"Bingo, kid," he said. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Well if that's the case, you're real calm about your failure," I retorted. He looked at me and smirked.

"It was a near miss," he explained, "and that was only our first shot. Next time," Hades' face turned dark, "we won't miss."

The next few hours flew by. Next thing I knew, I was folding the last of the napkins at Leo's table. The five year old had long since settled back at the table and fallen asleep. I smiled at him and went to deliver the folded napkins to the kitchen. Once I was back, I gently nudged him awake. He turned to face me with a sleepy expression.

"Time to go, Kiddo," I said. He nodded and I picked him up. We walked home in silence, the crickets in the summer night the only noise. At home, I walked up to his bedroom, changed him, and tucked him into bed. I gave him a kiss goodnight and turned to leave.

"Riley?" he asked, I turned to look at him, "I had fun. Can I go back again?"

On the inside, my heart leapt. After what he had put me through, I doubted he'd return anytime soon. I smiled at his sleepy form and said, "We'll see, Leo. We'll see..."

_Done! Too tired for an author's note. Thanks for reading. Please review!_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The mashed potatoes flew inches over my head. Luckily, I ducked out of the way just in time. It was yet another night at the House of Mouse about a month after being first hired. Since then, the villains seemed to be going out of their way to cause trouble. It started with simple tricks, tripping mostly. Then it began to escalate. First, an enchantment on my notebook that caused the orders to disappear by the time I set foot in the kitchen. Next, it was a trick pen that squirted ink everywhere. After that came a nifty little prank in which my apron spontaneously combusted. Now it was food throwing. A step down from the fire, yes, but much, much more annoying.

Hoots of laughter came from the direction of the flying food. I glared their way and stuck out my tongue. It was a cheap come back, but I had orders to deliver, and that didn't leave much chance for retaliation. I straightened and continued to walk towards the kitchen, large round tray held under my arm. This night was going to the dogs, and fast.

I made my way to fill some drink orders, collecting the cups and shoveling ice into each one. It was tedious work, but at least it gave me a break from the crowd, however short that break may be. Still, something was something.

I sighed. My arms hurt, my feet ached, and I was getting constant grief from more than just the villains. For the passed few weeks my friends have been ragging on me, as well as my family. I was tense, but I at least tried to keep a good face on.

Until someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"For the last time," I snapped, not turning around, "I'm too busy to hang out, I'll get my room clean in a minute, and Mowgli is NOT on the menu! It wasn't funny the first time and it is NOT funny now!"

"Ok..."

I turned and saw Max holding his hands up defensively, "Oh. Hey, Max. Sorry, I thought you were someone else," I said.

"Rough night?" he asked.

The last of the drinks had been filled and placed on the tray. I hoisted it up on one hand and gave him a mirthless smile, "You have no idea."

* * *

"Alright! " I said to the table-full of guests while placing four full glasses on the table, "We've got drinks! Your orders should be out shortly. Is there anything I can get you?"

"No, that's all, thank you," said Quasimodo, his voice still a bit hushed. It was apparent he was still struggling with shyness, but even in the weeks that I'd been here, he was breaking out of his shell. Bit by bit.

I smiled at the group. Esmeralda, Quasi, Clopin, and Phoebus all sat together tonight, "Ok, then. I'll be back soon. Just let me know if you need anything."

I turned to walk back towards the kitchen when _splat!_ Something warm and gooey hit the side of my face. I jumped back and shut my eyes as a reflex. Whatever the stuff was, it oozed down the side of my face and chunks caught in my hair. I whipped some of it away and peeled an eye open to examined the gunk. What remained of a banana cream pie was smeared over my hand. Classic. Immediately, I glared in the direction of table 13 the best I could, seeing as the cream was streaming into my eyes. The moment I did, they erupted in laughter. Those that didn't wore satisfied smirks. I huffed, "Oh, yeah. Real mature!"

I muttered, shutting my eyes yet again, "It'll take a miracle to scrub this stuff outta my hair. Stupid villains."

"Here," came a smooth, baritone voice, "use this." Someone placed a silk handkerchief in my hands. Without a second thought, I used the soft cloth to clean off my face. Once free from most of the gooey mess, I turned to the character who'd lent me the handkerchief.

"Thank you, I-" the sight of a reed thin man in a black suit stopped me mid-sentence. He leaned forward in his chair, a walking stick was propped up against the table. On his head sat a top hat with the image of a skull printed on the top. My face paled. Dr. Facilier looked at me as if he expecting something. That's when I realized I hadn't finished my sentence.

"...I haven't seen you around before." I finished, oh-so tactfully. I wondered if I should have just walked away. In hindsight, I should have.

"The name's Dr. Facilier," he said, tipping his hat.

"Um... hi," I choked, trying to gauge the distance between me and the kitchen. From where I stood I could see the double doors, but before I could move the witchdoctor was talking again.

"So, how'd a pretty little thing like you get caught up with such a nasty crowd?" he asked, indicating the villains, " My eyes shifted from him to the direction of table 13.

"Oh, _them_," I glared, " I pissed them off my first night here and now they won't leave me alone." I handed him back his handkerchief. Most of the gunk had been cleaned off my face.

"Sounds frustrating," he said taking back the cloth. He eyed me as if measuring something. Gears were turning in his head, though at that moment I didn't take notice.

"You don't know the half of it! Every night it's something different. God, I wish I didn't have to deal with them anymore!" I was venting, I realized, to a person that wasn't exactly the best choice. But stress had won and took control of my mouth. Plus, he was clearly listening. At the sound of those words, the witchdoctor seemed to perk up ever so slightly. As if something inside of him were declaring a victory, a silent '_gotcha'. _He gave a twisted grin. Again, I didn't notice, "Anyways, guess I better be getting back to work." I turned to leave.

"Well of course," the Shadow man crooned, "But, before you go," he reached into his coat and produced a deck of tarot cards, " may I interest you in a reading?"

I stopped and turned back around to refuse, "Sorry, but I don't-"

"It's free," he chimed, waving the cards back and forth. I bit my lip. Should I?

"Well...I guess... a quick reading wouldn't hurt," I shrugged and took a seat. Dr. Facilier wasted no time. In one smooth motion, he fanned the cards out between his fingers. He extended the deck.

"Just take three," he said. I plucked three random cards from the fan and placed them face down on the table. Dr. Facilier slid the cards back into a deck which disappeared in a puff of smoke. He waved his hand over the table, chanting, "The cards, the cards, the cards will tell, the past the present and the future as well."

The first card he flipped didn't resemble any tarot card I'd ever seen. Instead of some cryptic symbol, it had a miniature picture of me sitting in the park weeks ago.

"Now, you came to this place by happenstance out of a need to help make ends meet," he began then flipped the next card. This one had a picture of me laying exhausted on the floor. The faces of my family, friends, and nagging customers all glowered down at me, "but now that you're here, it's no bed of roses. What you need is a way to out-fox those who bring you down." His hand went to the third and final card. He flipped it over and on the other side was a confident picture of me standing tall and proud. "And it seems that in the future, that's exactly what's coming."

I looked at the third card longingly. If only that last prediction were true! A cool, confident version of myself. No worries, no stress, everything completely under control. I wanted that, more than anything. The witchdoctor leered down at me, wearing the same twisted grin as before.

"Now," he said, "won't you shake a poor sinner's hand?" Dr. Facilier held out his hand from across the table. As if in a trance, I took it and shook, still stealing glances down at the cards. Facilier grabbed my wrist and produced a small mask from his left coat pocket. Not thinking much of it, I looked back at the cards. A sudden pinch on my finger cleared my head. I came to with a jolt. The cards on the table top had disappeared and I found myself standing once again. Had the reading really just happened? Or did I just space out? I shook my head. Whatever just happened, customers still needed to be fed. With my tray tucked under my arm, I muttered something at the witchdoctor and hurried towards the kitchen.

* * *

As the night wore on, so did my patience. Orders flew in and out in their usual fashion, but tonight, the act of filling them weighed heavy. Even the characters that normally put a smile on my face started working on my nerves. Whether it was indecisiveness or just the chipper sound of a voice, with each order my nerves became more and more frayed. To add insult to injury, next table was Kuzco's.

From the beginning, the Incan royal was not my favorite patron. It's not that he was a bad person, he was just a major diva. Everything he ordered had to be just so. If it wasn't, there would be hell to pay. And as if that wasn't enough, he was constantly cracking the corniest jokes.

"Uh, waitress," called Kuzco, "over here."

I offered him a sarcastic grin, "What do you want, Kuzco?"

The emperor snapped his head back and blinked twice, "Is that anyway to treat a customer, namely, me?" And so it began...

"Sorry, Kuzco-"

"Ah-ah!" he wagged his index finger in the air and wore a patronizing expression, "that's 'I'm sorry, your super fantasticness."

My hand made contact with my forehead in a act of frustration, "Look, I'm really not in the mood for this tonight. Can you please, just tell me your order?" This wasn't just a request, this was outright begging. Kuzco, apparently, didn't catch that. He only sat back, screwed up his face and crossed his arms.

"Well, _someone's_, being a complete grumpy grump-grumpy face tonight," he sneered.

And that is when it happened. The frustration that had built up in the pit of my stomach boiled. In the course of that moment, it dissolved the remaining strains of patience that I'd held onto so carefully. Then, it made its way up until it reached my head, soaked through to my mind, and killed my self control. I opened my mouth, to shout, yell, let him have it. However, before anything could slip out of the opening, the look on Kuzco's face made me stop.

"What?" I snapped. The character only pointed at my face. "What?" I said once more, only to see that something made Kuzco jump. Baffled, I turned, thinking maybe something had happened at another table. Once my back was to him, I heard the emperor let out a yelp. Whirling back around, it looked as if Kuzco's eyes had doubled in size.

"What's got you so freaked out?" I demanded.

"You!" he said, his voice was a pitch higher than normal, " it's you! You look all...animally."

I gave him a skeptical look then took the knife off of his table to see what he meant. In the flat of the blade I could see my eyes staring back at me. Nothing seemed to be wrong, until I realized that there was a snout where my mouth should have been! The utensil slipped from my hand and hit the table top. Without thinking, I clapped my hands over my mouth, er, snout and ran straight for the kitchen.

I shot through the double doors and grabbed the nearest pot, desperate to see my reflection. Not only did I grow a snout, but two, orange ears protruded from under my dark hair. In an attempt to calm down, I shut my eyes and counted to three. Surely this was just a dream, a stress induced hallucination. Unfortunately, before I even reached 3, the pot fell to the floor with a loud clatter. Upon opening my eyes, I found two orange, furry paws where my hands had been. That was only the beginning. More hair sprouted up my arms and legs in clumps and patches. Soon, the fur completely engulfed me. I flailed around as, slowly, my body morphed into that of a monster. I didn't know what I was doing, all I knew was that something was seriously wrong.

This couldn't be happening, I thought, why was this happening? That's when the shadowman's words came back, _What you need is a way to out-fox those who bring you down..._

Oh, crap.

* * *

Mickey's head snapped up in the direction of the kitchen. From the commotion he heard, Mickey knew something wasn't right. Not even Goofy managed to make that much noise. He looked over to Minnie who was standing in the wings. She could only shrug in response. Unsure of what else to do, he turned back to the audience. The dining room had become awkwardly quiet. Oh boy. He let out a nervous chuckle and tugged at the already loose collar of his shirt.

" Heh-heh, it sounds like the dishes are getting impatient, so, uh, let's roll the next cartoon!" Mickey bounded off the stage immediately after having said the worst joke of his career. He swiftly made his way from the backstage area and through to the kitchen. Minnie, Donald, and Goofy came in soon afterwards.

The kitchen was in shambles. Pots and pans littered the floor, silverware was strewn about, and poor Gus was found huddled underneath a counter.

"What happened?" shrieked Mickey, looking at the chaos all around him. Minnie went to help Gus from under his hiding spot. Before the goose could answer, however, the group heard a whining noise from inside a cabinet.

"It's all my fault," someone wailed.

"Riley!" said Goofy and he and the rest made their way to the cabinet, "What're ya doin' in there?"

"Didja see what happened?" asked Mickey, turning the knob to open the cabinet.

"No! Don't-"

* * *

"-open the door!" Too late. By the time I finished my sentence, the door to the cabinet swung open. All at once, the three cartoons faces became masks of shock. Mickey gasped, Donald yelled and hid behind Goofy, who let out a wild, "Whoa!" There I was, completely exposed with my tail- my tail!- between my legs. I whined, a high-pitched sound, and ducked my head, not daring to face the rest of the staff again.

"You're a- a- a-" stammered Mickey.

"A fox!" Donald said. I nodded and whined even more.

"But, how?" Minnie asked, coming to join the others.

"Well, it started with the food throwing, then I got pie in my hair and I was feeling so stressed, plus he was being nice and actually listened. I know I was stupid, but I didn't think this would happen!" I babbled out a string of nonsense, ashamed.

For a second the others just looked at each other, then looked back at me.

"Huh?" said Donald. I sighed, looked down once more and told my story from the beginning. I explained the food throwing, the stress of feeling overwhelmed. I told them about how Dr. Facilier had tricked me into a tarot reading, and how stupid I was to accept. Finally, I described my encounter with Kuzco and my wild transformation only moments ago. By the end of it, I felt spent, and relieved. As if just explaining everything brought about a catharsis.

"...so I'm really sorry. About everthing. I didn't mean for this to happen."

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Minnie gave me varying looks of pity. Mickey rubbed the back of his neck before putting a hand to my shoulder (shoulder?).

"Aw, it's ok, Riley," he said.

I brightened a bit, my ears perking up, "So you forgive me?"

"Of course," said Mickey, then stood straight and crossed his arms, "But tonight, you're responsible for cleanin' up the kitchen AND locking up. Got it?"

"Got it," I answered, genuinely grateful. After screwing up this bad, I considered this punishment getting off easy.

Mickey smiled then nodded, "Now we just gotta find a way to get ya back to normal."

Right. Now that was going to prove a challenge. Spells and enchantments like these were usually broken with the kiss of a prince. Sure, there was an abundance of princes at the House of Mouse, but I don't think any of the princesses would be too happy seeing them kiss another 'woman'. No, breaking this spell wasn't going to be done the traditional way. (AN : Sorry guys. I thought about it, but it wouldn't work. Not in this chapter anyways.) Instead, an alternative presented itself in the memory of the pinch I'd felt on my finger. I curled my lips in a mischievous smile. Dr. Facilier had said I would out-fox those that brought me down, and I was going to make damn sure his prediction came true.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the rest of the staff and I found Facilier not at his previous table, but sitting at table thirteen. We walked up just in time to hear Hades congratulate the witchdoctor on a job well done. The lord of the dead patted Facilier on the back, the newer villain wore a satisfied smirk.

"Welcome to the club, pal," Hades said, just as we came into earshot. The table gave a toast and downed the substance in their glasses.

"Yeah," I said, "_Congratulations."_ At the sound of my voice, Hades, the only villain I could see from my height, turned and almost choked on his drink. Once his airway was clear, though, he wasted no time in laughing in my face. Mickey, however, was not amused. The mouse stood there, arms crossed, with a no-nonsense look on his face.

"As the host of this club, I demand you change her back," he said to Dr. Facilier. That only brought about another round of mocking laughter.

"Really?" said Facilier, "Now how do you suppose you're gonna make me?" He leaned back on his chair.

I said, "When you gave me that Tarot reading, I noticed you had an interesting looking mask."

The witchdoctor only scoffed, not even looking at me, "And?"

"I happen to know it's not in your pocket anymore," again he blew me off with a dismissive wave of the hand, "No really. In fact, Goofy's got it in his hand right now." At this, Facilier looked up and was horrified to find that Goofy did indeed have the mask.

"But how did you...?"

"We called in a favor," Minnie said, glancing over at Tinkerbell. The fairy gave a tiny wave from her perch on Peter's shoulder.

"It would be a shame if something happened to it," said Donald, which only caused Facilier to pale significantly.

"Now about changin' Riley back..." said Mickey.

* * *

The transformation, which was preformed by an extremely obliging Dr. Facilier, was a snap. In less than ten minutes I was back to normal, laying on my back on the dining room floor, and with a pounding head ache to boot. But I was normal none the less.

Now, hours later, the club was devoid of all patrons. The tables were wiped down, the dishes were cleaned, and the kitchen was spotless. The rest of the staff had gone home for the night, leaving me with my designated clean up/ lock up duty. As tired as I was, I didn't care. I was just glad to be walking up right again.

As I stood outside the club, I couldn't help but laugh a little. It's funny, but the whole fiasco gave new meaning to the phrase 'focus on the positive.' It's just hard to believe that it took being turned into a fox for me to realize it.

* * *

_Haha! Done at last! I hope you enjoyed it!_

_First off, I want to thank Mysterygirl for giving me the idea for this chapter in a review a while back, so if you liked it, you know where the idea came from! _

_Secondly, I'm sorry for being so long with this update, but life got in the way on more than one occasion. _

_Thirdly, thanks to everyone who's reviewed! I'm glad you're enjoying this story and I'm sorry if I haven't responded to your reviews. Like I said, life's gotten in the way. If you have any suggestions, you know what to do!_

_And last but not least, I'm considering getting a beta reader. More than once while writing this chapter I realized how much I needed a second opinion on things, so if anyone's interested, just pm me. If not, then it's all good. :)_

_Anyways, like it, hate it, critique it, review it! Thanks for Reading! _

_-Daydreamer747_


	7. Chapter 7 part1

Disclaimer: I don't own Disney or the House of Mouse series.

Chapter 7 part 1:

Mickey Mouse checked his watch for the umpteenth time; only five minutes had passed. The Mouse sat in his dressing room, minutes away from the most stressful night of the year. He sighed, and ran a gloved hand over his face. His right leg shook- up, down, up, down- at a rapid fire pace. Mickey looked up into the big, red mirror, and messed with the collar of his shirt yet again. Nothing he did with it seemed to look right tonight.

_Not that it matters, _he thought, _Not with-_

A tap at his dressing room door interrupted his thoughts and he turned to it. The door cracked open and Minnie's head ducked into the room. Mickey was both relieved and mortified to see her.

"You ready, Mickey?" she asked, " Show time soon."

"Oh, ready as I'll ever be, I guess," he answered as he hopped off his chair, " Who's out there?"

"Everyone you'd expect," she answered, "and a few others brave enough to come tonight." Mickey nodded, only half listening. Minnie walked over him and put a hand his shoulder, he lifted his head to face her. "Are you sure you're alright?" She looked Mickey straight in the eye, trying to find the answer for herself.

"Yeah," he said, "Just a little nervous." His uneasy chuckle only emphasized his point. Minnie gave a small smile.

"We all are," she said, "But it'll be over before you know it! Remember, it's only until midnight."

" I-I guess you're right," he said, a little of his normal cheerfulness returning. That was one of the many things he loved about Minnie, she always seemed to know the right thing to say to make anyone feel better. "So, everybody else ready?" he asked.

"Just about," she answered, returning to her professional manner, " everyone's here except Riley."

Mickey nodded, "Ah, that's ok. If I were her, I'd probably take tonight off ,too. Did she tell ya she wouldn't be here tonight?" Minnie gave him a confused looked.

"No, why?" she asked.

Mickey froze, unsure of what he had just heard, "Well, ya told her about tonight, didn't ya?"

Minnie shook her head, "I didn't."

Mickey paled and his stomach felt as though it had plummeted ten stories. "Why not?" he cried.

"I thought you said you were going to," she answered.

"No. I thought _you_ were gonna tell her!" he said, "Oh no, this is terrible, Minnie! Whatta we do? If she's on her way here, how's she gonna take seein' -" He was cut off by a sudden burst of music and the sound of Mike's powerful voice giving the intro. It was too late to do anything about it now, he needed to get on that stage. Mickey cast a panicked look towards Minnie.

"Go!" she said, pushing him in the direction of the stage, "Don't worry, I'll think of something. You just get out there and break a leg!" With one last gentle shove, Mickey was at the edge of the wings. He turned to gave Minnie one last look, but found that she was already gone. Turning back, the heat of the glaring spot lights caused tiny spots of sweat to appear on his forehead. He wondered, though, as he walked onstage, if it was the lights that made him perspire, or his nerves.

The wind howled through the branches of the trees in an almost foreboding manner. Ever rustle, every gust seemed to whisper "Beware! Turn back while you still can." That warning fell on deaf ears as I sprinted through the park, trying to reach the bridge as quickly as possible.

* * *

The weather had been acting up that entire day, bringing intense storms of heavy rain, not to mention lightning, to the area. Branches were torn right out from their trees, andleaves scattered the ground as if fall had arrived early. Pellets of hail the size of golf balls attacked the windshields of unsuspecting cars. The weather channel even issued a tornado watch for the area that afternoon. To top it all off, this tantrum of mother nature's caused the whole town to lose power. All of which to my mother delaying my departure for work until the storm calmed. Finally, the weather subdued just enough to convince mom that it was safe to leave the house. Unfortunately, I was over an hour late for work, and with the phones down and my cell battery dead, there was no way to call in late.

In a matter of minutes, the bridge came into view from around the corner. There it stood, soaking wet from the down pour. Water had collected in small puddles at the bottom of the arch. I didn't slow down. With eyes shut, I splashed through the puddles and to the other side. All at once, the wind stopped blowing and was replaced by the sounds of cars driving up and down the street. In one swift jump, I went from the middle of the street to the sidewalk, then dashed down the familiar path to the House of Mouse.

The lights at the club were already lighting up circles in the darkening sky. Its emblem shining proudly onto the street.

"I'm _so_ dead," I muttered. The glass front doors swung open seconds before I reached them. I didn't give it much attention. The club's foyer flew by in a blur, as did the dining room. The back wall of the club turned widely left and gave way to the backstage area. I stumbled in crying, "I'm so sorry I'm late! There was a killer storm back home and..." What stood there stopped me mid-sentence, or rather, _who_ stood there. There was an awkward silence as Hades turned to face me. Beside him was Ursula wearing Minnie's head set and holding a clipboard. My eyes went from one to the other for a good 30 seconds before the silence was broken.

"You're late," Hades smirked.

"Where's Mickey?" I said, my eyes became suspicious slits, "You're not supposed to be back here."

"Shows how much you know," he scoffed.

"I said, where's Mickey?" I demanded, a little more forcefully, "What the heck is going on?"

"Riley!" someone called as they dashed backstage. It was Mickey, with Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Daisy in tow. They came to a skidding halt square between Hades and I. "Ya made it! What took ya so long?"

"Sorry, the weather was bad," I said, "What's going on? Why...why are they back here? Where were you guys?"

"The villains are in charge tonight," Donald's explanation was calm. My reaction, however, was not.

"What?" I cried, "And you didn't tell me?"

"Calm down," said Mickey, "I'll explain everything." He took a deep breath before continuing, "Now, a few years ago there was...an incident one Halloween. A buncha villains got together and took over the club. Well, in the end we managed to scare 'em off using Genie's lamp." At this, Hades let out an unhappy 'humph', not exactly keen on being accused of cowardice. Mickey continued, paying him no mind, "But after everything was said 'n done, they vowed ta try again 'till they got control of the club for good. So that night, we came to an agreement. Once a year, us good guys hand the club over ta the villains. Whatever they say goes. We get the night off, but we like ta stick around, y'know, just in case."

"You can't be serious," I said. To be honest, the idea didn't sound too appealing. All those villains in charge of the club? What was to stop them from giving back the keys at the end of the night?

"Oh, but he is, child," Ursula said and with a flick of her wrist, a golden sheet of paper materialized in the air in front of me. The golden lettering on it read:

"_We, both Heroes and Villains, hereby agree to the following arrangement. On one night of each year of the villain's choosing, the staff of the House of Mouse are to turn over control of the club from opening until midnight of that night. Control of the club is to be symbolically handed over by relinquishing the keys to the establishment via ceremony. At that time, the staff present are given the night off and the villains have complete control of the establishment, provided that the building and its patrons remain unharmed. All decisions made by said villains are valid*, so long as they do not inconvenience the heroes, then or in the future. The keys to the club must be given back to the heroes by the twelfth stroke of midnight."_

At the bottom of the page were the signatures of the regular house staff, along with that of about two dozen villains.

"Well, this has been an _enchanting_ story time, really," said Hades, snatching the contract away, "but we got a show to run." He gave a dismissive wave of the hand, and the regular staff, including yours truly, turned to go. I made it a total of four steps before something yanked me back so I was, once again, facing Hades. The rest of the staff turned back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he waved his arms around in a wild gesture, "Where, exactly, do you think you're going?"

"Um, with the rest of the staff?" I said, by way of explanation.

"Don't think so, kid," Hades' smirk brought about a sense of dread. I blinked once. Twice, before realization brought with it a sense of dread. This had to be a joke.

"Y-you don't really mean-" I started.

"Bingo!" he relished his next few words a little too much, "You got work to do."

"But I'm not a villain!" I exclaimed, "I'm with the regular staff! I'm supposed to get the night off!" I looked over at Mickey and the others for back up, "Right guys? Tell him." The others shared a deeply uncomfortable look.

"We're sorry, Riley," Daisy said, "but there's nothing we can do. You weren't at the ceremony."

"But that's not fair!" the words rushed out before I could stop them, "How can he make me work? I'm not one of them!"

"Technically, no," Hades said, examining his nails, "but since someone decided to show up late- and in uniform, I might add- that makes you fair game."

I glared up at him, "Then I refuse. Get one of your cronies to serve the food."

In the next instant, Hades turned and shot me a grin that was none too pleasant, "Oh ho! You refuse? Well, you can't 'cause- here comes the kicker, you're really gonna love this one, kid- I have the authority to fire you."

I felt like I'd been shot in the stomach. Defiance quickly turned itself into desperation, "Wha-what? Wait! The contract didn't say anything about that!"

"Then I guess you didn't read it very carefully, did you?" Hades unrolled the contract and pointed to the very bottom of the page, holding it out for me to read. I leaned in close to the page, squinting to make out the tiny print.

"_*The decisions that can be formally made by the villains are limited and as follows. They may:_

_Add/ remove any items from the menu_

_Fire any employee working on their night if and only if they are dissatisfied with the employee's performance on that night._

I stopped reading immediately. How the heck was this part of the contract? If there were going to be limitations on their power, common sense dictates that firing people should be one of them! I stepped back and looked over at Mickey. His only response was a pitying look and a shrug. He was powerless.

I backed up a step. To say this was something I really didn't want to do this was an understatement. But what else could I do? An opportunity like this presented itself, and I took it. Now, it was my job to do anything I could to keep it. "Ok, Fine. I'll do it."

* * *

Hades watched the girl sulk into the kitchen, quite satisfied with himself. It was by sheer luck that Riley was late that night, and just for that he could have fired her. In fact, half of him wished he had fired her right there, but his other half -his smarter half- didn't. Oh, he wanted her gone, sure, but he was going to toy with her a little bit, make her squirm. Of course, having her go through a regular night wasn't going to be enough. He had a plan, genius and fool proof, and once he talked with a few of his fellow villains all the pawns would fall into place. All he had to look for was one slip, one imperfection and she was gone. And with what he had in store for her, that would be guaranteed. He smiled darkly.

"That kid won't know what hit her."

* * *

_Hey guys! I know this is a short chapter and I promise that the next one will be out in a matter of days. It's just that I meant for this to be the introduction but it was already five pages long! So I figured I'd split this chapter up into 2 parts to keep it from getting too long. Like I said, the next chap will be up in only a matter of days, maybe even by Friday. Still, don't hold me to that deadline. _

_Anyways, thanks to Galamatias for all the help and having the patience to put up with me! You rock my socks!_

_As always, love it? Hate it? Have any writing advice? Leave a review._

_Thanks to everyone for reading and I hope you like it so far! Till next time!_


	8. Chapter 8   7 part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Disney or the House of Mouse series.

Chapter 7:

I stood at the entrance of the kitchen, looking out the window. The dining room had turned into something sinister. The lights were slightly dimmer than usual and fog rolled between the tables, completely hiding the floor. At the tables sat some of the coarsest, menacing people in cartoon history. Along one side of the club sat Chernabog , his gargantuan form taking up the entire corner. It was as if the House of Mouse were having a nightmare. The only consultation was the regular staff. They sat in a far corner where they could see everything, without being seen themselves.

I turned back into the kitchen and rested my back against the wall. Over on the other side, the Evil Queen, now in Hag form, readied various pots and pans. I gulp and made a mental note not to take any leftovers tonight. Suddenly, I was hit by how alone I really was. If something went wrong that night, if there was any trouble, no one would help. It wasn't until that moment that I realized just how much I depended on the staff, especially Goofy. Sure, he was clumsy, but at least he cared.

Well, there was no use wasting time on self pity. There were orders to take. Mustering up all the confidence I could find, I straightened and pushed on the door. From the back of the kitchen, the Evil Queen/Hag called out in her harsh voice, "Good luck, dearie. You're going to need it!" Then she let out a shrill cackle.

Not a moment after I left the kitchen was I called over to none other than Hades.

The Lord of the Dead sat back, balancing his chair on two of its legs. It took an abundance of self control to keep from kicking it out from under him.

"Wait," I said, "didn't I just see you backstage?"

Hades arched an eyebrow, "Yeah, and? Did you assume that meant I was working?" I nodded, feeling like a colossal idiot. Hades rolled his eyes, "Well, I'm not. We take shifts, part of the whole villainous power struggle thing." Now it was my turn to arch an eyebrow. "Well, whattaya waiting for? Take my order!" Hades said.

"What would you like this evening...sir._"_ I asked, trying to keep the sarcasm from leaking into my tone. No doubt he'd be looking for any excuse to fire me, I had to at least be civil.

"Tonight, I thought I'd order _off_ menu," he said with a dramatic flair.

_Of course. "_Ok, what did you have in mind?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"I'm tired of eating this excuse for food you mortals eat. Instead, I want you to find me some Ambrosia. And what the heck! Some Nectar to go along with it." he said.

"Ok," I said, scribbling down the order, "I'll see what I can do, but the cook's gonna have a hard time with that order."

Hades smirk turned sinister, "Oh, I didn't say I wanted the _cook_ to do it. I specifically asked _you_."

My pen stopped mid letter. Ambrosia? Nectar? Isn't that stuff supposed to be exclusively available to gods? "That's impossible though."

"Call it what you will," said Hades, "But I'm the customer, and last time I checked," he leaned forward with a nasty smile. His chair came down with an adamant thud, " you have to do what I say."

I opened my mouth to object, but was silenced by his look.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Coming right up." Hades leaned back into his original position and I turned to get more tables.

Nectar and Ambrosia. The words tumbled around the insides of my brain. How the heck did he expect me to find nectar and ambrosia? The answer to that was obvious, he didn't. Hades' order was deliberate, it didn't take much to figure that out. Regardless, I was determined to show him. This job was too important to lose. If Ambrosia and Nectar were what he wanted, then that's precisely what he was going to get. All I needed was time.

Instead of going about the normal ten orders, I decided on a different approach. That night, the average number of orders per trip would skyrocket to a staggering 30 orders. It was risky, considering that most of those scoundrels had the patience of a toddler, but it was a necessary one. Anyways, Hades never specified on a time frame. I smiled. How I loved loopholes!

Waiting during the House of Villains was a challenge, but it wasn't completely unbearable. Most of the of them acted as villains are expected to act, rude, demanding, and, well, all around unpleasant. Scar's look suggested he wanted _me_ on his dinner plate, while Frollo's stare made me shiver for a completely different reason. At another table, Gaston bragged non-stop ("No one eats pork-chops like Gaston!"), and at yet another, Madame Mim wouldn't quit shape shifting.

However, there were a few surprises. About 15 orders in, I came across Captain Hook's table, which at that moment, was only seating Mr. Smee. How such a nice old man ever came to work for such a nasty pirate, I'll never know. His was the first show of rare kindness that night, though part of me already suspected he would. Around ten orders later came another hospitable guest was found in the Queen of Hearts. I found that the key to keeping her anger at bay was not to contradict her. As long as you just nodded and smiled, you were in the clear. The final of these 'civil' villains was both the most surprising, and my last order before returning to the kitchen. By then, I still had no clue how to find the heavenly food, and that had eroded the thin mask of control I hid behind. Both voice and hand shook as I repeated the customary greeting.

"T-tonight's specials include Scary pisghetti- spaghetti! with m-mortified meatballs-" I choked.

I gritted my teeth and tried to get through the rest of the order. Unfortunately, the oral quake failed to steady. When I was almost through, the Sea witch interrupted. Not a word was spoken, she simply clapped a tentacle over my mouth. I started, then shot her an annoyed look.

"In Neptune's name, child!" she said, "Now, for your sake, you will tell me why you refuse to speak clearly." Ursula shot me an angry look and released me. The annoyance didn't quite leave my face. I looked her up and down for a moment before taking a deep breath.

_Might as well tell the truth,_ I thought, then said, "Hades wants Ambrosia."

At the sound of the Flaming god's name, the Sea witch's glare vanished. Instead, she rolled her eyes and groaned. "Of course. I should have known that GLORIFIED MATCHBOX would try something of the sort," she yelled in Hades' direction. Then Hades turned to face Ursula.

"OVERSIZED INK BOTTLE!" he yelled.

"BRIMSTONE BREATH!"

"KELP-FOR-BRAINS!"

The two villains traded insults like a couple of preschoolers. If it weren't for the current threat to my job, (and possibly but life) it would have been funny.

"So...I take it you don't like each other," I mumbled uncomfortably.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Ursula said, sarcasm dripping. With one last dirty look at Hades, the Sea Witch turned her attention back on me. " He wants Ambrosia, you say?" I nodded. She stared back at her table, thinking something over, then said with every once of contempt, "I suggest you don't get used the idea of receiving help from me, especially for free. But that arrogant, flame-headed fool needs to be taught a lesson. Now listen."

Half an hour later, each of the first thirty orders were served to their respective tables. Well all, that is, except one. With the others delivered, I made my way to Hades' table where he sat waiting. He was so sure he had won.

"About time!" Hades said as I walked over. I stood in front of his table, arms folded behind me, and a confident smile on my face. "Well? Where's my order?"

I lifted my chin and reached into the pocket of his robe. Both of the godly substances glowed like sunlight and silver, "You had both things with you the whole time."

Hades' blue flames flashed red for a moment before he composed himself. He gave a frantic look at the table cloth, his eyes were shifting from left to right. In a moment, he froze and gave a sly grin

"Well, kid, that was pretty clever," he chuckled, "But it looks like we got another job for you."

Just then, a shadow fell across the table. I turned and found Captain Hook leering down at me. The brief feeling of accomplishment dissolved at once.

"Why, good evening Ms. Franklin," Hook said.

Hades rose and stood by the pirate captain's side, "See, Hooky here needs some one to scrape the barnacles off his ship. And, well since the rest of the staff is just so busy," I snuck a look over to the reception area. Cruella lounged about filing her nails, "I thought _you'd _be up for the job."

"But I'm a waitress," I answered, "and you don't have another waiter."

"Oh, I'm sure we can manage," Hades said, "We'll just 'get one of our cronies to do it'."

Suddenly, I wished _I_ was the one with the flaming hair. My hands balled into tight fists, crushing the nectar and ambrosia just a tad. They were taking full advantage of this contract and as unfair as it was, I couldn't object.

"Right away, _sir,_" I spat, slammed Hades' 'order' on the table, and followed Hook out the door.

* * *

There are very few creatures on earth that I truly, irrevocably hate. Spiders, lizards, and snakes, just to name a few. By the end of that night, barnacles were one of them, too. They were nasty critters. Sure, they didn't really bite or crawl or slither, but when they stuck themselves to wood, they held on with a grip so tenacious it could rival that of the strongest man.

Hook led me to the House of Mouse's rear parking lot which, somehow, could fit a full sized Galleon. I looked up at the tall masts that reached into the night sky. It was an impressive sight, not that I'd ever admit that to the Captain. Hook shoved something into my hand that turned my attention back to the ground. The pirate had handed my a dull chisel. I looked up at him only to have a bucket forced into my stomach. I let out a 'woof' and doubled over to catch the bucket. Captain Hook pointed to the ship with his good hand.

"I expect to see me ship free of those blasted barnacles," he instructed. I looked over to the ship and my eyes grew. Every inch of the hull was absolutely covered in barnacles. The only wood visible was in patches. Clearing the entire vessel of those creatures was going to take many hours, I'd be chiseling well after midnight.

With a pale face and wide eyes I answered with a slight whimper, "Yessir."

"And," Hook said, straightening, "I would like it done within the hour, savvy?" I nearly dropped the bucket. The captain turned to leave, "I'll be back to check on your progress. Remember, lass, done within the hour!" With that, he was gone.

Turning back to the ship, I groaned at the chore I had to do. There was no way I'd ever be able to clean that mess before midnight, much less in an hour! Only a miracle would get it done. I sighed and walked over to the ship. Choosing a good patch to start, I wedged the chisel under a barnacle and began to scrape with all my might. It finally gave after a while and fell with a _clunk_ into the bucket. I groaned and moved onto the next one. After about ten minutes, I had managed to free the ship of only four barnacles. My arms dropped to my sides. This was not going to work.

_Oh, God, what am I supposed to do?_ I prayed.

Frustrated, I rubbed my forehead to try and think only to feel it sticky. I pulled back my hand and found traces of gold and silver on them. It took a moment to realize that it was nectar and ambrosia. Some of the substances must have dripped onto my hand when I'd balled it up! If memory proved correct, Nectar and Ambrosia were supposed to give gods their power. An idea hatched and presented itself, but would it work? With one last glance at the hull, my mind was made up. I brought my hand to my lips and sucked off the remaining stuff.

At first, nothing happened. Then a warm tingle originated right by my belly button, then spread all over. Not wanting this opportunity to pass, I lifted my chisel and struck a barnacle. Not only did the sea creature release at once, but dozens of others followed in suit. I smiled and tried again, hitting a barnacle harder. This time, even more barnacles rained down. Already, 1/3 of the hull was clear.

I repeated the process ten times before it was finally cleared of all but the most stubborn barnacles. By then, the little ambrosia and nectar had worn off, and I was back to pulling at individuals. It was fine, though, since only about five or so remained. Just as the last of the barnacles fell, Hook came strolling around the corner.

"Time's up, Ms. Franklin! How is the...condition...of..." his voice began to trail as he caught sight of the Jolly Roger.

"All done!" I chimed, then handed him both the chisel and bucket. Hook snapped out of his stupor long enough to shoot me a suspicious look. He refused the bucket and went to inspect the ship. Ten minutes of brutal scrutiny proved what was already known. The hull was spotless. A moment later, Hades came up to the parking lot.

"What's the damage, Hooky?" he asked.

"She did it," the pirate said glumly.

"What?" Hades looked at the ship.

"Yep," I smirked, "All clean."

He whirled around and glared. "YOU! You cleaned that entire ship in less than an hour. How?"

When I didn't answer, Hades' flames flared red, but this time, they didn't simmer down. Quick as a flash, he turned and lifted me by the shirt. I clawed at his wrist. The red-hot skin of his arm seared my own with a hiss. I cried out a little in pain.

"I asked you a question, ya little brat. Now, I want an answer. How'd. You. Clean. The. Ship? WELL?" He shook me to emphasize his point. With clenched jaw I said, "I did it. That's all that matters. But next time, have me clean the ship BEFORE handling Ambrosia."

For the first time ever that night, I witness a rare event. Hades anger was not an unusual sight. He's barked, he's glared, he'd complained and shot flames and swore. But never had I seen his fury expressed in such a manner. That night, Hades said nothing. He actually shut up. Instead, he turned and stormed back into the club, with yours truly still in tow, struggling all the while. When he burst into the dining room, still flaming red, every villain, every cartoon was silent. After sweeping the room with a murderous look, he stalked to the stage where Jafar, the M.C., stood. Jafar shot Hades a questioning look, to which Hades responded by nodding once. He climbed up slowly, a spotlight trailing him. Once he reached Jafar, he threw me onto the floor of the stage. I landed hard on my side and glared up at him to cover the terror that had solidified in me. Hades only spared a glance then turned back to the crowd.

"Ladies and not-so-gentle men," he said in his charismatic fashion. Sinister laughter rumbled through the room. Out of the corner of my eye, the regular staff was staring wide eyed at the stage. Minnie held a hand to her mouth, as did Daisy. The others only watched, Mickey standing next to his chair. The Greek god of death continued, "Tonight, we have a _very _special treat for you. A magic act, of sorts. Starring your host, Jafar!" the audience applauded at the mention of the sorcerer's name, " and his _lovely_ assistant, Ms. Riley Franklin." At the sound of my name, I whipped my head back at Hades. Assistant?

"Oh, and it gets better folks! The magic is a feat of hypnosis!" My face turned cold. "But to make things more interesting, we've decided to add a little ... competition, if you will." This caught the already attentive audience's attention. "If Jafar succeeds in hypnotizing the girl, or she closes her eyes for more than a blink, she loses her job here at the club," Hades shot me a loaded look. I gulped. Somehow, I had the feeling my job wasn't the only thing that was in danger. " But! If Riley here can _resist_ until the stroke of twelve-" I looked up at a clock on the far side of the club. It was 11:55. "- then she keeps her precious job." A murmur went through the crowd and I saw Mickey turn to Donald with an expression that was beyond worried. Jafar turned and bent down, offering a hand with a mocking smile. I narrowed my eyes and made a point of standing without his help. He scowled and turned back to the audience.

"And with that," Hades continued, "we wish the participants good luck! We start in sixty seconds." to me he said, "You don't stand a chance against magic, kid. I'd start checking the newspaper."

"Bring it on, bastard," I muttered. In actuality, I was dying inside. Hades was right. Out of everything I'd done that night, this really was impossible. I didn't dare look back at the staff.

A second later, I stood across from Jafar. The sorcerer held his snake staff at the ready My heart pounded at my rib cage as if trying to break it. Time turned to molasses as the two of us stood there, Jafar sneering at me, and I at him. Then, after an eternity, Hades' voice boomed from the wings, "Begin!"

In an instant, Jafar raised his staff to my face. The golden snake's eyes emitted fiery spirals, they were captivating, coming forward in a slow rhythm. A relaxing heartbeat. My eyes started drooping, lulled by a visual lullaby.

"Fight it, Riley!" a yell snapped me back to attention. The voice sound vaguely like Mickey's.

"Yeah, you can do it! Show 'em who's boss!" Donald quacked.

The audience began to protest, calling interference. At that, the handful of heroes that showed up that night joined in with encouragement. Angry yells came from all corners for the good guys to shut up. Some cried for disqualification, but nothing could be done. Hades never specified against cheering someone on, much to his chagrin. That was one thing about villains. It seemed they never considered that heroes could find loop-holes, too.

Still, the encouragement from my friends kept me holding on, though barely so. The rest I had to do myself. _Think Riley._ The spirals of light came faster now, more intense. I had to fight. But how?

_Don't let go, don't let go! You got this. This is nothing. This is a joke. This is...exhausting...NO! Not exhausting. Think, think! It's...it's...it's...useless. Crazy. Impossible._

Impossible. Now there was a word that threw me off. This was impossible. There was no way I could do this. No way I could rival powerful magic by just staring! _ God, don't let this happen! _ That's when a thought hit me: I was hired here for a reason. My resume, _my_ resume blew into the doors for a reason. A sheet of paper somehow blew into a bridge, crossed into another world, and landed me a job. On a daily basis, my commute was trans-dimensional. I waited on some of the most famous cartoon characters in America, if not the world. Mice, ducks, and dogs sat in that audience, calling me to hold it together. That same night I had outsmarted a god, rid a Galleon of hundreds of barnacles in under an hour. All of this, the club, the patrons, everything, should have been impossible, yet here I was. This may have been impossible, but impossible was something I had beaten before. Why not now?

A new surge of energy coursed through, fighting back the fog on the edges of my consciousness. I gave a small smile. Jafar, however was not done yet. He let out a fresh wave of fiery spirals, stronger than the last.

So there we stood, for how long, who could tell? But we stood there none the less. Unfortunately, the intensity of the magic grew and pressed more and more against my mind. I began to struggle again and still Jafar fought harder. Less and less were my surroundings clear. The edges of my vision began to fog up. My brain was numb. There was no sound save the blood rushing in my ears. _Bong! _Somewhere, far away, there was a single chime. Hope became stronger, but not strong enough. I went back to thinking, though at that point my thoughts were only a series of pictures in my head.

I saw Mickey, and Goofy, and Max, and the others. Cracking jokes, stumbling, opening doors, talking on a headseat. Suddenly, they were no longer just co-workers. They were my friends. My lifeline.

_Bong!_

Then I saw my family. My mother acting spastic, my father running the pet shop, Leo's face when he saw the 'magic bridge worked'.

_Bong!_

Now the Villains, casting me lethal scowls.

_Bong!_

An image of Captain Hook's ship looking magnificent against the night sky.

_Bong!_

The House of Mouse's lights dancing back and forth.

_Bong!_

My uniform.

_Bong!_

West point bridge, looking real amidst cartoons.

_Bong! _

The Cheshire cat moon my first night here.

_Bong!_

My friends at home.

_Bong!_

A pair of rainbow socks at the park.

_Bong!_

The shooting star and the words that started it all.

_Bong!_

"_C'mon. I just need this one shot. I'll do almost anything! Just please, give me a chance, Big guy!"_

All at once, the rings on the golden snake ceased. I felt like I'd been hit by something. Hard. With the last of my energy I looked at Jafar and croaked, " I win." Then my knees buckled and gave. I collapsed onto the stage. Then came darkness.

* * *

"...Must be exhausted."

"Anyone would be."

"But she's been like this for an hour! Are you sure she's alright?"

Voices, first warped and far off, drifted through the thickness. I felt as though I were rushing towards the surface of the water. My senses were rapidly coming back and I was aware of a few things. First of all, the light was dim. Second, someone had draped a blanket over me. Third, it was after midnight. My eyes snapped open and I shot up to a sitting position.

All six characters jumped back with various yelps.

"Don't do that!" squawked Donald from under a table. The dining room had been abandoned and now, only we remained.

"Sorry," I said, "but what happened? Did I make it? I can barely remember a thing."

"It's ok. Calm down," soothed Minnie, "Everything's fine. You fell after that...spectacle they put you through." She said the word 'spectacle' like it left a bad taste in her mouth. "Don't worry. You're still a waitress."

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"About an hour. It's almost one o' clock."

"Seriously? I have to let my mom know-"

"We already called. We told her you were busy cleaning the kitchen." said Minnie.

I smile in relief, "Thank you guys. You're the best."

"It's no trouble," said Daisy.

"You betcha! Now it's been a hard night fer all of us. How 'bout some cake? There's a big one in the freezer." said Mickey. No one objected.

"Great!" said Goofy, "I'll get it!" A minute later, a clamor arose from the kitchen, we heard a loud "AAAHOOHOOHOOHOOOEEEEE!", and Goofy walked through the doors covered in frosting and cake. A cherry balanced perfectly on his nose. "Ahyuck, oops."

For a moment we just gaped, then all at once we laughed at the sight. It was in that moment that, for the first time, I knew that these were my friends. Even if they weren't around to help me, I knew they had my back. And that, regardless of the situation, was enough.

_DOOOOONNNNEEE! There! I know it's technically a week late, but it's there! I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, 'cause I really enjoyed writing it! Anyways, a few points:_

_Ambrosia and Nectar don't technically give gods their power. It really only gives them immortality, but for the purposes of this fanfic, it's the source of power. I ask all Mythology buffs to forgive me this misinformation!_

_To Mysterygirl: I like your characters, but for right now, I don't think I'll be using them. Thank you anyways! _

_To Galimatias: Thanks again for helping me out with this chapter! You're AMAZING!_

_I know that in the first half of this chapter, Ursula and Hades aren't killing each other, but I needed another villain to be enemies with Hades and since the sea witch is, well, water and Hades is fire, it was a logical choice. Plus most of my friends agreed. Sorry for the sloppy story-telling!_

_Well, that's all I can think of! Love it? Hate it? Critique it, review it! Till next time! Cya!_

_Daydreamer747_


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: If I owned the House of Mouse, it would still be on Disney channel. 'Nuff said.

Chapter 8

Summer passed-as all things do- and made way for fall to take it's place. The sweltering heat and violent storms, growing tired of their semi-constant wrath, calmed into chilled mornings and cool breezes. The leaves of the many trees in the park were beginning to brighten. They painted the path to West Point Bridge with hints of warm browns, reds, oranges, and yellows. Squirrels foraged, birds prepared to migrate, and life went on as usual. Needless to say, those of us under a certain age found ourselves at the mercy of the public school system, yet again.

Leo, having turned six just a month before, went to take on the first grade; armed with a 'Hot wheels' backpack and, true to form, a lion-themed lunch box. Nervous as he was, by the middle of the first quarter he proved to be handling himself nicely. I only wished I could have said the same about me. 11th grade proved to be quite the challenge, and while I could manage to keep most of my classes under control, World History was not one of them. And that is where the trouble really began.

"A 'D'!" Mom's shriek reverberated through the kitchen, scaring me more than a little. I cringed and rubbed my forehead. "How could you get a D? In History? How? Explain to me." A second passed and my shoes became fascinating. "WELL?" I looked up only to avert my gaze once again. Mom was not a pretty picture when she was steamed. Her eyes would start to boil and spit like hot cooking grease. The very tip of her nose would turn a bright crimson, while her cheeks were washed in a deep blush. Deciding on a safer option, I shrugged. Mom seethed for a second before mimicking my actions. She shrugged, then said, "Is that all you have to say?" She shrugged again. When I didn't answer, she unleashed one of her heavy sighs. "Riley, what am I going to do with you? This is your future! Your grades aren't a joke! You have to take school seriously."

"I do take it seriously," I said, my eyes yet again focused on my sneakers.

"Oh, yes," Mom said, "and this grade _clearly_ shows it! Did you even study?" I didn't say anything, but my silence was more incriminating than anything I could have said. Truth is, I had wanted to study! In all honesty, I did. But the night before was a crazy night at the House! By the time I made it home, I was dead, and that test was the farthest thing from my mind.

There was another span of silence before mom spoke again, "You know what? Maybe I was right. You're too young to be working. Obviously that's what's distracting you." My head snapped up at the mention of my job.

"What? Mom, no! I'll try and do better, I promise!" I said.

"Nope," my mom shook her head, "I let it go the last few times, but this is the fourth test you've flunked already. You had your chance to prove to me that you were responsible enough to handle things, and you did just the opposite. You're calling your boss today and telling him you quit."

"Mom, no! Please! I was just getting the hang of things!" I begged, " Plus, it's only a test."

"Riley, you're calling your boss," she said, "and I promise that if you don't, I'll do it for you."

"No!"

"Then get on that phone! _Avanca!__"_she yelled, pointing towards the phone in question.

"Mom-"

"Now."

"But-"

"NOW!"

"But it's only a test!" I said, "I still have time to raise my grade! Plus, I have another test on Monday. Just...give me till then. I promise, I'll try and do better."

This made my mom pause, even for just a few seconds. It seemed that she was taking my word into consideration. That, or this may have been another one of her zig-zag moments. In the end, she closed her eyes, let out another gust of a sigh, and flashed her tired eyes in my direction.

"Alright," she said, "This is what I'll do. You have a test coming up on Monday, correct?" I nodded, as did she. "Ok. You have the weekend to study, young lady. That means no friends, no phone, and you will not leave this house unless you are going to work. I want no less than a B on that test on Monday, understand? If not, then you are not working anymore. I don't care how much you beg, I will not change my mind next time. Is. That. Clear?"

"Perfectly," I said, "I'll try to do better."

"No!" she snapped, a look that would have made Hades run screaming darkened her face, "You _will_ do better! I'm tired of hearing "I'll try". You. WILL. Do. Better. If not, then you already know the consequences." I gulped. "Ok, now get out of here or you'll be late."

I was out that door in record time, with my book tucked into my bag for good measure. If things went well, I might be able to study during breaks. In the mood my mom was in, I was determined to deliver on my promise. I did not need to face her wrath again.

* * *

"Show starts in ten minutes," Goofy said, walking into the dining room with Donald in tow, "ya fold those napkins yet?" I didn't hear him. The contents of chapters five and six were holding my attention hostage.

"The AchaemenidEmpire's decline began in 332 B.C. ... Or was it 233?" I mumbled, trying to remember one of the many, horrid dates.

"Uh, Riley?" said Donald. When I still didn't answer, he tried calling a little louder, "Riley!" There was still no response. Frustrated, the Duck waddled up and snatched the book from my hands. "RILEY!" At seeing my reading material disappear, I snapped to anxious attention.

"What was that for?" I said to Donald. The duck only frowned, "We asked you a question. Goofy wants to know if you folded the napkins." At first I was a bit confused, "What napkins?" I asked, then the next second I said, "Oh, right! Yeah, they're right over...here." I trailed off as I realized that I had little more than half of them done. I closed my eyes before turning back to the two cartoons. Goofy's eyes were wide while Donald, now scowling, crossed his arms and tapped his webbed foot in annoyance.

"What's goin' on here, fellas?" Mickey asked, approaching us on his way backstage. He looked from Donald, to Goofy, to my book, to the napkins, then to me.

"Riley didn't fold the napkins," grumbled Donald.

"But it's ten minutes to show!" Mickey shrieked, then turned to me, "What happened? Ya always get everything done."

"She was reading," Donald held up my textbook and handed it to the mouse. I cringed a little and my face flushed, "I thought I could study and fold at the same time...I guess I got a little too distracted."

Mickey furrowed his brow, "Ya never study on the job."

I decided the best thing to do was just explain from the beginning, "About that..." I sighed, "I...haven't been doing so great in history lately. When my mom saw my most recent test, she told me I had to get at least a B on the next one, which is on Monday, or...or I had to quit."

"Quit?" cried Goofy.

"This is not good," said Mickey. He looked down at the ground for a moment, then whipped his head up, "Well... how bad was the grade?"

" A 'D'..." I mumbled. Mickey, who wasn't looking at anything in particular, nodded in response. For a moment, his brow furrowed in concentration. The next second, however, he gave a little jump, smiled and said, "I got it!" In a rush, he ran backstage with my history book. All the while saying, " Dontcha worry about a thing! Just finish those napkins!" With that, he turned back around and bolted backstage. Goofy, Donald, and I were left staring after him wondering what exactly just happened.

When Mickey Mouse had an idea, he really had an idea. It was as if an invisible brick fell from the sky and landed in his head, jolting him away from whatever had been going on a second earlier. This was one of those moments. The mouse raced backstage in order to get to work. If he wanted to get this done he had to do it now. He dashed passed Minnie and Pluto in a whirl and left the other mouse calling after him. He didn't hear her. Right now, he was too wrapped up in his moment of epiphany for anything else to matter. Once in his dressing room, he skidded to a halt and sat at the dresser. Mickey flipped to a section of review questions in the textbook and gave it a glance. He grinned. This idea should work nicely.

"Mickey!" said Minnie, storming into the M.C.'s dressing room. When he didn't answer, she tapped her foot against the tile. He still gave no response. She tapped faster. Nothing.

"Oh!" she huffed and marched the rest of the way towards the other mouse. "MICKEY MOUSE!" Mickey jumped a foot in the air at her outburst. "HAVE YOU LISTENED TO A WORD I'VE SAID?" The startled mouse whipped back and gave a sheepish grin at his angry soul mate.

"Heh-heh. Sorry, Min. Guess I didn't hear ya," he said.

Minnie's hard look softened at his apology. It was difficult for her to stay mad at Mickey for too long. "It's alright," she said, then gave the history book a quizzical look, "What are you up to, anyways?"

"I'll explain later," said Mickey, "But I'm gonna need some help! Are ya willin'?"

Minnie shrugged and smiled, "Why not?"

"Great!" said Mickey, "Now here's what I need ya ta do."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the napkins were folded, the tables were ready, and the staff took their places. I stared into the dinning room through the kitchen door, much like the first night. Soon the familiar sight of the guests taking their seats came and I felt nervous all over again. But unlike the first night, my worries were much different. If This test didn't go well, it was possible that this was the last time I saw the club fill. Of course, I'd do all I could to keep that from becoming reality, but Mickey made off with my book. And I wasn't so sure if I would get it back... In other words, there was no way I could get on studying yet. Not that it really mattered- since I could just start the next day- but I was determined to pass, and that was going to require a lot of work. Soon enough, however, Mickey hit the stage and the show had begun. I had to get out there and leave my worrying behind.

Out in the dining room, the House was packed, like most Fridays. The stage was lit, the tables filled, and the guests were hungry. As Mickey went on with the usual intro, I got busy taking orders. It was just like any other night.

Well, almost.

About my fifth order in, the intro, which I never really paid much mind to, caught my attention.

"Tonight," said Mickey, "Is a special night at the House of Mouse!" The host waited a second before continuing. " Tonight, we're gonna play a game!" Now curiosity got the better of everyone in the club. The majority of the patrons were whispering amongst themselves, those that weren't cocked their heads in the direction of the stage. " Here's how it works. Before every other cartoon, we're gonna put up 5 historical questions-" my jaw dropped. Where was Mickey going with this? "- If ya know the answer, wave your napkin around three times, like this," Mickey waved around a handkerchief to illustrate his point, "then Riley-" a bright spotlight found me amidst the tables and made me squint- " has ta come over and ask ya for the answer. Once the cartoon is over, we'll announce your answers and your names. Whoever gives a correct answer gets a free dessert! Are ya ready ta start?" Based on the reaction, it was safe to assume that they were. I, however, was still trying to digest what was happening. Mickey, even after I'd screwed up earlier, was going to help me study on the job. Either that was how much he cared, or the House needs a waiter more desperately that I'd thought. Somehow, I felt it was the latter... or maybe an odd combination? I glanced up at the Mouse on the stage and got his eye. He gave me a little smile and an even smaller nod. I chuckled a bit then mouthed a thank-you. "Great!" Mickey exclaimed, "Here's the first five!" He turned and gestured to the screen. A second later the questions appeared.

List four different civilizations that existed in the fertile crescent.

Name the river system that surrounded Mesopotamia.

What was King Hammurabi famous for establishing?

In what year did the fall of the Achaemenid Empire occur?

Who was responsible for its end?

"Alright folks!" said Mickey, "If ya got the answer you know what to do. And while you're thinkin' up those answers, here's the first cartoon!" The screen behind Mickey sprang to life in an instant of color and music. I blinked once then got back to work, fully expecting some time to go by before I saw any waving napkins. However, when I turned to move on to the next table, I caught sight of three waving napkins! Unsure of which to pick, I headed over to first table that caught my eye.

"Do you have the answer? Er, what would you like to order? " I kicked myself. Should I have taken the toon's order first?

Milo Thatch looked up with an excited gleam in his eye. The young linguist was the typical nerd. When it came to most other situations, he was nervous and somewhat awkward, but when given the chance to flaunt his knowledge, he did so and then some. "Well, I don't mean to brag or anything, but the answer to the second question is actually quite simple. It's the Tigris-Euphrates River system, of course! Not only was it an important water source, but it actually _defined_ the area. The actual name Mesopotamia was derived from the Greek words 'Meso' meaning 'middle' and 'Potamia' meaning river, so the name itse-"

"We will have the Pridelands prime rib dish. And some of that dark, fizzy drink that is so popular," Kida said, cutting her overly-enthusiastic husband short. Milo deflated a bit, but stopped talking. The Atlantean queen smiled and handed me their menus and I grinned back in thanks.

"Alright! Your order will be out in a minute, and I'll let Mickey know your answer." I said.

"Thanks," said Milo, then added with a sheepish look.

"No problem," I laughed, then made my way to the next waving napkin.

At the next table sat Aladdin, Jasmine, and the rest of the group from Agrabah. The Genie was the one waving the napkin in the air. Abu sat along with Iago*; the two were fighting over a fork as Carpet drummed its tassels on the table top. When I arrived, the bird whirled and all but shouted, "Took ya long enough! We've been waitin' forever here!"

"Iago!" Aladdin said. The parrot only shrugged. "What?" he sqwaked. He didn't understand what he'd done wrong. Being one of the good guys meant being honest, right? He was just stating how he felt. Iago huffed. This hero stuff was harder than it looked.

Jasmine shook her head and said, "Don't mind him. I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"Well of course I- ah!" The indignant bird never finished his sentence. He was cut off my a whack from the Genie. The parrot stumbled over the side of the table but caught himself in mid-air. Flapping his wings, he shot the Genie daggers. All the while, Genie avoided his stare with an overly- innocent expression. Abu chattered and laughed, happy to see Iago get knocked around.

I stood and watched the scene, thoroughly amused. To Jasmine, I smirked and said, "Don't worry. I'm used to it by now. I know he's just a marshmallow with wings." Iago did not appreciate that comment.

"Marshmallow! Who you callin' a marshmallow?" his feathers ruffled

. "Aww, don't be so sour about it!" I laughed, "It's a compliment."

The parrot rolled his eyes, "Compliment. Oh, yeah right. Sure."

I laughed then turned to Genie, "I guess you have answer, then?"

"Thaaaaat's right! To the third questionThe answer is..." Genie transformed into a drum. Two drum- sticks beat quickly on him. After a short drum roll, he changed back in a burst of confetti that made Abu run up Aladdin's arm. "Hammurabi's Code!" he said.

"Great," I said, picking a piece of confetti out of my hair. I wrote down the answer and the Genie's name. One by one the residents of Agrabah gave me their orders, I gave them a nod, said, "Thanks for your answer!" then I was on my way to the next flailing napkin. And that is how the first batch of questions came and went. By the middle of the second cartoon, all five questions had been answered. All that was left to do was find Mickey and give him the names and answers. And after I dropped off the orders, that's just what I did.

I found Mickey and Minnie talking backstage, with Minnie tapping on her PDA as usual. As I got closer, the mice turned and gave me an expectant look.

"I've got the answers!" I said and handed them a list of names and responses.

"Great!" said Mickey, "But ya better hold on ta that." He handed me back the list. I just looked at his hand, confused.

"Why?" I asked, "Isn't almost time to announce them?"

Minnie said, "It is."

"Then why don't you need the list?"

"Because," she giggled, "You're going to do it!" She pointed a gloved finger at me. My face paled.

"M-me?" I asked.

"Yup!" said Mickey, nodding.

"But-but I-"

"Gotta get movin', Riley," he said. Mickey grabbed at my sleeve and tugged me forward, "Show starts back up in minute!" I looked back at Minnie, hoping this was all some kind of joke. She, however, just waved and wished me luck. Not a second later, Mickey dragged me past the wings and onto the brightly lit stage. The audience clapped at seeing their host appear. In the house, the lights went up and revealed an army of cartoon characters. Mickey waited for the clapping to die down before speaking.

"Alright, everybody!" he said, "Here's what you've all been waitin' for! It's time to reveal the answers ta the first five questions." Behind him, the giant screen blinked and displayed the questions from the first round. The mouse turned and asked, "Will ya do the honors?"

_Honors?_I thought, full of sarcasm. Out loud I said, "Ok." and looked down at the list.

"The first question was answered by Yensid," out in the crowd, people turned and applauded in the wizard's direction. Yensid gave the very ghost of a smile and nodded. No matter what, the wizard never lost his serious demeanor. It was almost scary. "and the answer is the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires."

"Correct!" Mickey said and the answer appeared in place of the first question on the screen. I cleared my throat.

"The second question was answered by Milo Thatch," Milo ducked a little and waved once. I could barely keep down a laugh. "and the answer is the Tigris-Euphrates River System."

"That's right!" the mouse called and that answer also replaced it's question.

"The next question was answered by the Sultan," the Genie pretended to blush and said, "Ah shucks! Stop it." That earned the laughter of the surrounding patrons. "he said Hammurabi's Code."

"Right!" Just as before the answer appeared.

"Ok, the fourth question was answered by Princess Eilonwy*" the blond girl smiled at the stage and the clapping cartoons. She sat along with Taran, Gurgi, and Fflewddur Fflam. "the answer is 332 B.C."

"Correct!" That question was also replaced.

"And the last question was answered by Hercules," the Greek demi-god was sitting at his usual table with Meg, Phil, and Pegasus. "the answer is Alexander the Great."

"Correct!" Now all five questions had been replaced. "That's the end of round one! But don't worry, there's plenty more chances ta play! Now, here're the next five questions!"

* * *

The night progressed in a similar matter. Mickey would ask the questions and white napkins would would wave to and fro in response. Some of the answers came from the most unexpected people. How Pongo would know that Gilgamesh was a hero of Babylonian mythology is beyond me. Or how Snow White knew that Bronze age in the middle east began in 3300 B.C. What was most shocking was how Br'ar Bear happened to know that a shell called Maoris was used by the Sumerians to make a prized purple dye. Regardless of where the answers came from, however, the point is that they came. The game was a hit with the audience, and the fact that I could 'study' on the job didn't hurt either. The club's atmosphere was one of laughter and friendly competition, but that's not to say the night was perfect.

Around the fifth and final round of the game, I spotted a waving napkin that sucked the smile off my face. I sighed, suppressed an eye-roll, and trudged over to none other than table thirteen. Couldn't these guys leave me alone for just one night? I mean, c'mon! Even evil needs a vacation.

"You have the answer?" I asked wearily.

Maleficent, the napkin waver, grinned a chilling grin, "As a matter of fact, I do."

"Alright," I said, pen poised on my notepad, "let's have it."

Apparently, whatever I'd just said struck the villains as comical. They snickered at a joke that had a punchline I didn't get. I gave a deep frown, "What's so funny?"

"Aw, kid!" Hades chuckled, "It's like you don't know us at all!"

"Oh, on the contrary," I said, "I know you more than I'd like to."

Dr. Facilier was the first to recover. His smile was so slippery it made an eel look like sandpaper, "What Hades means is, that's not exactly how we... operate." At this the rest of the table calmed and shared a conspiratorial look. My eyes narrowed. "Then how do you '_operate'_ ?"

The table as a whole darkened.

"Simple," Ursula began, "We have something you want. You just need to give _us_ something in return."

I rolled my eyes, "That's what the free dessert's for. It's a prize."

"That doesn't count. Point is, we want more than just some crumby dessert," Hades said.

"Then what do you want?" I dreaded the answer more than I'd dreaded anything beforehand. Even another tongue lashing from my mother seemed less threatening.

Maleficent was the one to say, "Only a favor."

I blinked. "A favor?"

The green-skinned fairy nodded, "Yes. One favor. To be called in at any given time in the future. No favor, no answer."

That was it? A favor? What kind of a trade off was that? I'll admit, I breathed a silent sigh of relief at hearing such a tiny "price". Had I actually thought things through, I would have realized the trouble being in a villain's debt could bring, but I needed the answer and there were tables yet to be visited.

"Ok," I said, "You've got yourselves a favor. Now can you please give me your answer?"

* * *

Once work ended and I arrived back home, I had no trouble keeping my promise to my mother. That week end was the most intensive study session ever to be performed in the town of West Point. I didn't leave the house, much less my room, in those 48 hours. My history book didn't close for that amount of time either. Dates, names, and locations filled my head in a constant rhythm, like some ancient heart beat. The contents of chapters five and six now had my undivided attention. It was grueling, it was tiresome, it was mind-boggling, but in the end it was what had to be done. Then, when I felt I could remember my own birth date without finding some historical connection to it, it was time.

That Monday moved miles a second. Before I knew it, half the day was gone and the Test was placed on the desk in front of me. Shut my eyes, prayed, then slowly peeled them open to face the first question:

Name the river system that surrounded Mesopotamia.

I grinned as the image of Milo's face filled up the space in my head. I knew these answers. With a final intake of air, I picked up my pen and set the ballpoint to the paper.

Four days later, the staff of the House of Mouse found themselves in the midst of their pre-show rush yet again. Only, this time, they all caught themselves giving quick, nervous glances at the door. It was 5:35 and there was still no sign of Riley. Mickey shook his head. It was only five minutes, that wasn't enough time to infer anything by. Well, for most people. Donald had all but hung a "Help Wanted" sign outside. But still, it worried him that she hadn't shown up yet. With a sigh, he decided to head backstage to his dressing room.

_Starin'__ at __a__ door__ won't__ make __her__ get __here__ faster,_ he reasoned and turned the knob. The mouse, however, never made it inside for a second later, Goofy came ambling in.

"Mickey!" he said, "She just got here! She says the test was graded!"

"H-how did she do?" Mickey asked.

"Hasn't said yet," Goofy said, "C'mon!"

The two characters made their way to the dining room where they found the girls and Donald huddled near the kitchen. As they came closer, the look on Riley's face worried them. She stood there, the test held behind her back, with a somber expression.

"So tell us!" said Daisy, "How'd you do? Can you stay?"

Riley took a deep breath and looked down at her sneakers, "Well guys, it was really close. The teacher said I was just two points away from the next grade up but... it just didn't happen." After a beat, the cartoons deflated.

"Aww, I'm sorry," said Mickey and patted the girl on the shoulder, "but the important thing is ya did your best."

"Yeah, I know," she said, the added, "But on the bright side... I got a B+!" She whipped the test out and showed it to the others. Mickey's eyes widened in surprise and Donald, Minnie, and Daisy burst into laughter.

"Ya tricked us!" the mouse smiled and gave the girl a playful push.

"Actually, _we_ tricked _you_!" said Minnie.

"I showed them all before you got here." Riley explained.

"Well how do ya like that?" laughed Mickey, "Ya help someone study and this is the thanks ya get."

"I hate to break this up," said Donald, "But we gotta finish getting ready!"

The group sobered up and went to their respective places to finish up. Riley beamed, happy to know that this was one of many such occasions that had yet to come.

_DONE! Phew! I thought I'd never finish this chapter. The ending is a little cheesy, I know, but I couldn't think of another way to wrap it all up. Anyways, there were a couple of these guys "*" floating around. So let me clear those up._

_*Ok, the first astrik was about including Iago with the good guys from Aladdin. I don't think I've mentioned him before this chapter so I figured I might as well. And before you start swearing up and down that he is in fact a henchman, let me explain. I decided to go with his status in the sequel/television series where he does, in fact, change sides._

_The second astrik is by Princess Eilonwy's name. That's because not everyone is familiar with the movie "The Black Cauldron". It is one of Disney's most unrecognized films. It was released in the 1980s and it received negative response because it was a little dark for younger audiences. I mentioned Eilonwy along with Taran, Gurgi (who is adorable by the way!), and Fflewdder Fflam because I feel they deserve some sort of recognition._

_Well, that's all the astriks! The next chapter should be up soon but I want to ask you something first. Do you think I should experiment with third person perspective? Let me know in your review or through pm! Anyways, that's all for right now guys. Thanks for reading! Till next time!_

_-Daydreamer_


	10. Chapter 9

AN: OK, I won't lie. I have no excuse for being so late with this update. But that doesn't mean I'm not infinitely sorry. That being said: This idea was brought to you by AnimeCrazedGirl7! If you like it, you have her to thank, if you hate it, you have me to blame.

Chapter 9

The moment my mother walked into the living room, I knew something was up. I tried my best to ignore it by keeping my attention on the television, but the weather forecast could only hold my interest for so long. That and the moment she sat down she shut off the set. She wasn't mad, but I could tell she came in for a reason. Something in the way she looked said so. With a quiet sigh, I sat up and looked my mother straight on.

"Hey, mom. What's up?" I asked.

"Well," she began, "You know how your father and I have our anniversary on Saturday..."

"Uh-huh..."

"I was- _we_ were thinking of going out to dinner that night and-"

"And you need me to watch Leo?" I guessed, though it didn't explain why she was acting so strange. I'd babysat Leo tons of time and she knew that I normally didn't mind.

My mom shook her head, "No, no, no. We already have him staying at Kenny's house." Kenny was a boy from my brother's class. They'd met earlier this year and already they were joined at the hip. "What I was going to say was... well, we thought that we'd go to that nice restaurant where you work."

In an instant, I felt the back of my neck go cold. They wanted to go to the club. They wanted to eat where I worked. What was I going to do? "Y-you want to eat at my job?" I asked, hoping against hope that I didn't sound nervous.

"You don't have a problem with that, do you _mi'ja_?" There was a problem. A very big problem. Up till then, my parents didn't exactly know the truth about my job. They thought I worked about eight blocks away from the south end of the park, in a part of town we barely ever visited. In a restaurant that didn't exist. It was the perfect cover up location. Close enough for me to walk, but far enough so my parents wouldn't go past it every other day.

I swallowed and plastered on what I hoped was a convincing smile, "Of course not."

And that was how, four days later, I found myself panicking over just how I was going to pull this off. I racked my brain on my way to and from work, hoping that an idea would pop out from the bushes or the animated widows. Needless to say, nothing came to mind. That is, until the Friday night before the dreaded date.

The club was fairly empty for a Friday, which allowed for a good amount of downtime between orders. Somewhere around the middle of the show, I decided to pace around the lobby and see if I could think something up for the next day. It was while I was in the midst of this that help came in the form of Cheshire Cat.

"There's gotta be some way..." I muttered and turned to pace the length of the lobby once more, then stopped. That is when I finally noticed the Cat floating near a column by the Mirror. How long he'd been there, I didn't know, but the amused look he wore hinted he'd been there long enough.

"No, no, keep going," he smirked, "I want to see how this ends."

"Very funny," I retorted. My cheeks grew pink with embarrassment, "Um, do you need anything?"

Cheshire shook his head 'no', then added, "But it seems you might. What's troubling you_?_"

"It's nothing," I said, "My parents just want to visit the club tomorrow."

"Oh my! That is a travesty," the Cat pressed his paw to his forehead in fake lament.

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't keep a small smile from creeping up my face, "That's not the problem. It's that they don't...exactly know... the truth about the club. So now I have to think of a way to fix this."

"Ah," the Cat's eyebrows rose in understanding, "That's the trouble. Well, there is one way out of this."

"How?"

"The truth."

"Yeah, right," I scoffed. The truth, I knew, was inevitable, but there had to be some way to a least delay it. Besides, my parents would never believe me. At least, not until after they discovered the new restaurant I'd invented was a lie. By then they'd be angry and there would be no reasoning with them after that. "If I'm gonna go with that, I might as well shoot myself now. It might be better to tip-toe around it. Y'know, ease them into it."

Cheshire sighed, "Oh what a tangled web we weave-"

"I get it."

"Do you? Do you really?" Cheshire tilted his head, "Well, if you insist on doing things the hard way, I suggest you think about the way things are."

"Think about things?" I repeated.

"Good luck," said the Cat and began to vanish.

"What? Wait! I don't understand."

Now only Cheshire Cat's eyes, nose, and smile were visible, "You will." With that, the rest of him disappeared and I was alone once again.

"Crazy cat." I said, then set off back to work. All the while, I thought about the nonsense Cheshire had said. Rethink the way things are? The very sentence is a mess! How did he expect me to know what it meant? After a few orders, I made my way towards the kitchen when a great bellow came from backstage. Pete was back again for the monthly rent pick up. I rolled my eyes. Every time he came around he was always complaining about this or that, yelling about how he'd shut down the club.

I froze.

Shut down the club. Shut down the club... What Cheshire had been aiming at had finally gotten through. My parents knew nothing about my job except for what I had told them. If I were to, say, tell them the club was closing down there was no way they'd know I was lying. There was just one problem: no way I could convince my parents that the restaurant was shut down AND keep working.

_Unless it was closed temporarily. _Now there was an idea! But how would I pass that off? If I said they were redecorating, then my mom would want to see place even more than she did already. What else... I turned back towards the kitchen, but jumped back in surprise when something small and glowing whizzed past my face. A second look would reveal that it had been Ray, the firefly.

"Oops," he laughed, " 'Scuse me dere, miss. Didn' see ya."

In that instant, I felt as though someone had flicked on a light.

"It's fine, Ray," I said, " Thanks actually."

* * *

"Fumigating?" My mom deflated the moment I dropped the bomb. That night, I walked into the house wearing a slight frown and announced that a health inspector had visited the restaurant. Said 'inspector' had told the 'owner' that there were signs of a possible infestation and ordered the club be fumigated.

I nodded, "Yeah, it was real last minute. The owner says they'd be closed all weekend, maybe even through Wednesday." Mom dropped onto the couch in disappointment.

"But what about our anniversary dinner?" she asked.

"Yeah," My Dad called from the kitchen, "You made us a reservation, right?"

"They were all canceled," I lied.

" They don't do some kind of rain check or anything? Maybe we could just postpone the dinner," he said.

I flinched inwardly. Crap.

"Uh, no. No. There's no rain check or anything. I guess you'll just have to go somewhere else."

My mom sighed and tapped on her coffee mug, "I guess so. Oh well, maybe next time."

"Yeah," I said, "Next time." Relief flooded through me. They fell for it.

The next night, or D-day as I had come to think of it, my parents decided on a night at the movies and replacement dinner at the local Olive Garden (AN: Which I do not own!). Meanwhile, your's truly was going to spend some time at a 'friend's house', which gave me an excuse for leaving the house.

Around five o' clock, my parents stood at the door, told me to behave and be home before it got too late, and walked out the door. At five fifteen, I was on my way to the House of Mouse yet again feeling like I had escaped death itself.

If I only knew how wrong I was.

* * *

Later that night, I was busy filling a couple of drink orders when Max came into the kitchen. "You look happy today," he said.

"More like relieved," I placed some of the full glasses onto a tray.

"How so?" Max leaned against a wall.

"I just dodged a major bullet on the parental front," I said. I filled the two remaining drinks and hefted the tray up by my shoulder again.

"Congratulations," he smirked, "Before you get out there, Dad wanted me to let you know that there's some late guests that haven't been served at table 18 and he's a little busy."

"Sure thing," I said and headed out the door. I stopped by Timon and Pumbaa's table, then at Pooh's to deliver the drinks before heading off to take care of the late customers.

Table 18 was a nice table, so I was surprised it hadn't been taken until then. It was tucked against a dividing wall in the dining room that was decorated with plants, which hid the guests from certain angles. It was hot spot for couples and offered a surprisingly good view to the stage. Most nights, it was one of the first tables claimed.

A few seconds short of reaching the table, I pulled out my pen and notebook from my pocket and rounded the divide.

"Welcome to the House of Mouse," I said, still looking at my notebook, "I'm Riley and I'll be your waitress tonight. Is there anything I could start you off with?"

"Yes," said one of the guests. His voice wiped the polite smile right off my face, "To start, we would like an explanation." At that I snapped my head up and found a sight that ran my blood cold. Sitting on the cushy chairs of the House of Mouse's best tables sat none other than my parents. My parents! In that moment time had officially stopped. I saw no movement. I heard no sound. Nothing else existed beyond my parents, the table, and myself. About a million questions fought for attention in my mind, but my jaw was not paying them attention. Instead, it was busy hanging slack from the shock of seeing _them._

"Hello, Riley," my mother's greeting was a venomous one and my father's glare wasn't any less dangerous.

"M-mom. Dad..." I blinked several times, "Um, wha- how-?"

"We decided to take a walk in the park," my Dad answered. His face was frightening pink, "Guess who we saw run under the bridge?"

I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I can explain."

"Oh, you'd better!" my mom said, "And we'll be expecting a good reason or so help me Riley, grounding will be the least of your worries. But for now, I think your father and I will enjoy a little dinner. What do you think, Greg?"

My dad gave a nod, "I think it's a great idea."

I gulped.

* * *

That night at the club was, without doubt or fear of exaggeration, the most humiliating night of my life.

First, were the overdone signs of affection. Every time I brought something to their table they'd give a sugary smile and say, "Thank you! You're the best daughter ever! Come here!" in a loud enough voice to be heard by the surrounding tables, then proceed to deliver pride crushing hugs and kisses.

After a while the occasional visit didn't cut it, it seemed, and they took it upon themselves to follow me around the different tables. Each time, they'd introduce themselves to whatever characters there as "Riley's parents!" and big fans. Then they'd give the "we're so proud" speech and give them all the details of my childhood reactions to their movies. My mom even went as far as to sing "Part of Your World" to Ariel and company while trying to get me to sing along. Some characters were nice enough to shoot me sympathetic looks, but most just laughed.

Once they grew tired of ruining my reputation in front of as many toons as possible, they moved their efforts to embarrassing me with their love for each other. They cuddled, they giggled, they hugged, stared deeply into each others eyes, kissed, and even ordered spaghetti to recreate the famous "Lady and the Tramp" scene. People stared. I cringed.

Finally, near the end of the night came the worst of the worst. It was an act to put all the other forms of humiliation to shame. How this occurred to them, I do not know, but it proved just how angry they must have been. By that time, I had been thoroughly embarrassed and for some reason thought that the worst of it was over. What came next blew my false sense of security out of the water.

I was walking out of the kitchen when I Mickey announce my name from the stage. Not a second later, Horace had a bright spotlight aimed in my direction. Toons were laughing as Mickey began talking again, "...wrote a poem dedicated to their daughter." I tensed. No.

Mickey cleared his throat and read off a napkin,

" Roses are red, violets are blue, but nothing's as clear

as how much we love you.

You sing in the shower, as a kid you picked your nose,

and you still giggle when we tickle your toes."

I shrank behind my tray by then to hide the flaring red coloring in my cheeks. But nothing, NOTHING, could prepare me for what came next.

" We embarrass you now, for you deceived us highly

but no matter what, you're still our Wriggly Riley."

That name. That cursed name which deserved to be cast into the very depths of hell. That horrible, humiliating nickname I had had to bear sense infancy was just revealed to a room filled with hundreds of familiar people. I couldn't believe it. They had sunk that low. So low as to reveal the ugliest of secrets. I shut my eyes and clenched my teeth wishing that this entire night had been nothing more than a dream. I had no such luck. The heat of both the lights and my red face were too real, the claps and hoots of laughter too potent. Summoning my courage, I peeked over the top of they tray. Every toon in attendance was laughing straight at me, to the right, I saw my father give me a thumbs up while my mom blew me a kiss. Closer to the stage, I could make out Mulan shaking her head and giving me a sympathetic look. She was one of a very select few. I sank my head behind the tray yet again and skulked back into the kitchen. There I stayed for the rest of the night.

* * *

Of course, the show came to an end and one by one the guests filed out until no one but the staff and my parents were left. Needless to say, I had to give them the explanation I had promised.

"I thought you wouldn't believe me," I said.

"If that's what you were afraid of, then why didn't you just show us the bridge?" my Dad sighed.

I frowned and looked down at my shoes, "Because I didn't want you to freak out and say I couldn't work here."

"You didn't want us to freak out?" my mom asked, "Riley, how do you think we felt when we saw you disappear under that bridge today? We thought you'd been hurt! If we hadn't seen the plaque we would have done more than freak out. And how about after we followed you? How scared do you think we were to find ourselves here instead of back home! We were almost run over by a car." Had I not been in trouble, I might have chuckled at the thought of my mother dodging a cartoon car.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "But be honest. If I had come to you guys and told you that the Bridge was magic, you'd have thought I was crazy. Am I right?"

"That's not the point-"

"But am I right?"

For a second Mom and Dad exchanged looks. They didn't say a word, but their expressions spoke volumes. In the end they took a deep breath and my dad answered, "No. You're right. But that still doesn't justify what you did. Don't think you're off the hook. As of this moment you are grounded for a month. And we'll be taking away your computer privileges for just as long. You will not text. You may not go out with friends. Your weekends are dedicated to studying and cleaning out the cages at th pet shop. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"As for this," my mom indicated the entire club.

"I'll let Mickey know I-"

"Let me finish," she said, "As for this, I think embarrassing you was worse than making you quit. You can continue to work here. Of course your grades need to stay up, but that goes without saying."

I allowed myself a small smile, "Thanks. But why?"

"Well," my mom started, "For one, you'll have to deal with showing your face around here for a while. I doubt anyone is going to forget tonight any time soon." I winced. It was true. There was no way I'd live this one down for a while, especially with table 13. My mom continued, "And... your father and I have to admit... you're doing a good job around here. This job has definitely taught you some responsibility. We're... proud of you. We're still mad, but proud of everything else."

I nodded and, call me cliche, gave my parents a hug. After a moment they returned it and we embraced until my dad said, "Alright. Let's get home."

I can honestly say, without doubt or fear of exaggeration, that was the most welcome phrase I'd ever heard in my entire life.

_Finally got this chapter done! To be honest, I had to rewrite this chapter at least four times and I'm still not completely happy with it. Oh well. I just had to get this chapter out of the way. The next one should be better. I'm tired. Thanks for reading! Please review. _

_Daydreamer747_


	11. Chapter 10

Alright, here we are! Chapter 10! This idea was brought to you by Galamatias and was co-written with her too! I had wanted to wait on it for a bit...but the idea was just too fun to pass up!

Disclaimer: I don't own Disney, the house of mouse, apple, or the lyrics to call me maybe.

Chapter 10

Through the wall of snow that blocked the entrance to the House of Mouse, a clatter could be heard sounding from the inside. Of course, there was no one around to hear it. With the weather in the condition it was in, everyone with a shred of sense was tucked away safely in their homes, warm, dry, and comfortable. If anyone were to have been around, however, they would have also heard what sounded like muffled bickering follow the clatter. Inside the club, the lights were out- save for a couple of emergency floodlights along the back wall- and the dining room, kitchen, and lobby were in shambles. Tables and chairs lay overturned, at least two dozen eggs were splatter along the walls. In the lobby, the phone dangled off it's hook and the poor Magic Mirror had toppled over and somehow gotten lodged between a wall and a column. Back in the main dining room stood two groups at an apparent impasse.

One group, or better said, one person stood with shoulders tensed in anger. She was a mess as bad as her surroundings. Her face and long hair were dusted in flour and her clothing was stained and, in some places, torn. If you were to look closely, you'd see she was also missing a shoe. She waved a staff above her head with both hands; her manner suggested she was not afraid to destroy it. What held her back, though, was what her rivals had stolen.

Across from her stood the other group. Equally worse for wear, the curious characters fumed at the girl. Like their enemy, they too were covered in flour and stained with condiments. They stood glaring, ready to pounce, but unwilling to take the risk. One of the characters, a lanky man with a twisted beard stared straight into the girl's eyes. It was his staff she held but he had something of her's as well. Above his own head he held a small rectangular device which you would recognize as a music player. His intent was as clear as the girl's.

And so they stood, each delivering their own silent threats. It had been a long night, and the day promised to be just as trying. No doubt you're wondering how this stand off will turn out, but to know how this story ends it's best to start at the beginning...

* * *

"Phew! It's freezing outside!" I shivered as I removed my coat and hat. Winter in Toontown was much harsher than that of West Point and much more constant. Unlike my hometown, the temperature didn't seem to fluctuate. If anything, everyday was only colder than the last. From the moment winter blew in, my trek to work had been fraught with icy winds and slush on the sidewalk. I hated the cold, but at least the House of Mouse was heated.

"That's winter for you, Wriggly," Max laughed and I bristled. It had been a month since the Parental Incident and while most everyone had finally forgotten about it, Max was one of the few to keep it alive.

"I'm ignoring that," I said. A bin of bundled silverware and napkins sat on the counter waiting to be distributed. I picked it up and went to get the chore done before opening. Max just chuckled and followed.

"C'mon, you can't still be mad about that," he grabbed a few of the bundles and before I could protest, began to set them on the tables.

"I wouldn't be if some people let it die already," I gave him a pointed look, then picked up the bin and moved to another table.

"Ok, ok. I get it. I won't bring it up again," Max said

"Thank you."

"No problem, Wriggly."

I rolled my eyes and fought to keep away a laugh. His back was to me, but his smirk could be heard clearly in his voice. Max spared a quick glance and shot back a mischievous smile before returning to his work. I opened my mouth to retort, but thought better of it. Sometimes it's better to quit while you're behind.

* * *

"Looks like it's going to be a slow night tonight," Daisy told Mickey and Minnie as she entered the backstage area, "The weather's acting up. The news says we'll get at least another two feet of snow before the night's over."

Minnie looked up from her PDA, "Two feet?" she asked.

Daisy nodded to confirm that Minnie had indeed heard right, "At least," she added.

"Oh Mickey," Minnie said, "This is could be serious! Do you think we should cancel the show for tonight?"

Mickey laughed, "Aw don't worry, Min. Ya know the weather man always exaggerates. Plus, what's two feet of snow? It won't be so bad."

The female mouse's brow rose in uncertainty, "Well, if you say so." Minnie still wasn't convinced, but if Mickey wasn't worried, why should she be? She sighed and turned to the duck, " Thanks, Daisy. Let us know if you hear anything else."

"Will do," Daisy said, then headed back to the lobby.

* * *

A few hours later the club was filled with only a fraction of it's usual guests, which meant the orders had been taken and filled in record time. In the few months I had spent waitressing at the House of Mouse, I had never seen it so empty. Out of the entire dining room only about a fifth of the tables were occupied and no additional guests were coming in.

With everyone taken care of, those of us in the kitchen found ourselves with more free time than we could figure out what to do with. While Gus and Goofy played a game of cards, I sat in the corner by the ice machine tapping away at my newest, most prized possession. The Ipod had been a birthday gift from my parents two weeks prior, and I had yet to let it out of my sight. With good reason, too. I had been begging them for a music player for a while, and having gone without one for so long had filled me with happiness and a sense of (slightly unhealthy) protectiveness. I had seen those kids around school who's Ipods were battered, their delicate screens covered in a spiderweb of cracks. Every time I spotted one of those I 'd vowed to never allow that to happen should I ever be lucky enough to own one. Now that I did, I took every precaution to keep my music player good as new.

Anyways, there we sat, each keeping busy as best we could with only the muffled sounds of cartoons and wind. Even in the kitchen we could tell the weather was roughing up outside. Through a ceiling vent the gusts could be heard and, on occasion, came the whipping of wind. Still, we weren't too worried.

Until the lights started to flicker.

It was barely noticeable at first. The room would go dark for so short a time, you'd think you just blinked. But then the dark spells would grow longer and more obvious. It was becoming clearer that the building could lose power at any moment.

After a particularly long stretch of darkness, Mickey took the stage and said, "Sorry, fellas. It looks like the storm's starting to mess with the power, so we've decided to end the show early tonight. We wish ya all a safe trip home and we hope ya enjoyed the show. See ya real soon!" Almost as if supporting the Mouse's decision, the lights flickered once more as the guests began filing out. Those of us in the kitchen didn't need to be told twice. As soon as Mickey announced the early closing, we all started to clean up. Gus took care of the stove and counter, while Goofy cleaned the rest of the kitchen. I went off to collect the silverware and dishes. We made good time, considering the lights would go out every few minutes.

Once everything was just about cleaned up and accounted for, the staff began taking their leave. First Clarabelle and Horace, then Gus, Donald, and Daisy. About ten minutes after Daisy's departure, Goofy poked his head into the kitchen while I was loading up the dishwasher.

"Ya need a lift ta the bridge, Riley?" he asked, "Me an' Maxie are just about ready ta leave."

"Thanks, Goofy. But, I wanna finish this first," I answered.

"Ya sure? The weather's gettin' ugly out there," he said.

"Don't worry," I told him, "as soon as I'm done here, I'm going straight home."

"Well, alright. Just be careful."

"I will be. Thanks again!"

With that, the toon was gone and I was left to my duties. Soon after, the last of the dirty dishes were stacked into the dishwasher and I was free to go home. After making sure my ipod was tucked into my pocket, I went backstage and wrapped myself in my coat. Just as I was about to turn and leave, the lights went out again. I jumped at being so suddenly surrounded by darkness, but it was then that I noticed something was a little strange about the surroundings. Instead of the backstage area going pitch black like it ought have, there came a glow from down one of the halls. It was dim and unsteady, almost like candlelight. Acting out of both curiosity and instinct, I went after it to have a look. I had to step quickly in order to keep the mysterious glow in sight, since a) the lights could have gone back on at any moment and b) the closer I tried to get to it, the farther it went.

Not long after I decided on pursuing the glow did it begin to disappear around a corner. I walked faster, but didn't find any sign of it. It had vanished. The lights flicked back on and while I didn't find the source of the glow, I did find the door to the props basement wide open.

Now the props basement at the House of Mouse was one of the places I had yet to visit, because Mickey forbade me to ever venture down there alone. Apparently, it was like another world down there. Daisy had once told me about a time where Minnie had gone down alone and went missing for most of the show. It wasn't until the rest of the staff, minus Daisy herself, went down to look for her that they managed to find Minnie and their way back.

I was torn. On one hand, the props basement was a definite no-go zone. It was both forbidden and dangerous to go down alone. But by that same token, what if the light I saw was caused by a guest who had somehow gotten lost? As an employee I was responsible for their safety. I could have always gone to get Mickey, but there might not have even been enough time for that. Plus, I'd learned that Daisy's word could be somewhat doubious.

On that note, I had reached a decision. I would go down to the basement, call out to anyone who might be down there, then depending on if I got an answer , I'd go straight back up the stairs and either get Mickey or go home. With one last look around, I made my way down the stairs and into the darkness.

* * *

"Has everyone already left, Mickey?" asked Minnie while she waited for the other mouse by the front entrance.

" Looks like," he answered, "I just got done checkin the kitchen. Everyone's gone!"

"Are you sure? What about Riley? I don't remember seeing her leave."

Mickey nodded, "She's gone. I was just backstage and her coat wasn't there. She musta left through the back door."

" Alright then," said Minnie, "if everybody else has left, let's go before the power goes out."

And with that, the club owner and his girlfriend locked the front door, and hurried home.

* * *

Before heading down very far, I scanned the basement to see if I could find the glow again. From the little I could make out it was obvious Mickey wasn't kidding. That basement really was huge! It would take a day to explore the whole thing. It was dark, too. The only light came from the hall and a bunch of scattered, dim bulbs that hung from the cieling. With that in mind, I took care to keep the door to the basement open. In case I got lost, I could use the light from the backstage hall to lead me back.

"Hello?" I called, "Is anyone down here?"

No answer. The farther in I went, the less I could see.

"T-this is Riley, the waitress. We're closing up. You might want to come out."

Still, there was no one. Could I have just been imagining things?

"Seriously, you're not allowed down here. Please come out?"

This time, the sound of hushed voices caught my attention. They were faint at first, but as I inched closer a few words became clearer.

"...magic never fails... not here."

"...course...hidden...no fool..."

The voices sounded familiar, but try as I might, I couldn't seem to recognize them in the dark. What I did manage to do, however, was trip and send a stack of prop boxes tumbling to the ground.

"Ow," I said, then looked back to see a rope laying where I'd been walking. "Really?" As it turned out, that rope wasn't a rope. It was a snake's tail, I realized, around the same time that I noticed the dark surroundings brighten. The light source cast everything in a blue-ish tint. I looked up and instantly wished I hadn't.

"Well look who I found!" Hades smirked. In the low light he looked extra menacing; his teeth and eyes glinted like the blade of a knife. Behind him stood the rest of table 13. It took some effort not to shiver. I stood and dusted myself off. Well, at least that explained the glow.

"Oh great," I said, "What are you doing down here?"

"We could ask you the same question," Scar came stalking from behind Hades, "Spying, were we?"

"I saw something come down here and heard voices," I answered with narrowed eyes, " Now answer my question."

Jafar held up his staff and examined the snakes head, "We were simply trying to locate the restrooms. It seems we got lost." At this, his fellow villains gave a snicker.

'Restrooms my ass,' I thought, but instead said, "uh-huh. Well, the club's closing and you're not supposed to be down here. I suggest you all get back upstairs and leave before the power shuts off for good."

"And you suppose you can just tell us what to do," Facilier said, leaning against a prop tree.

"As an employee, yeah," I said, " Besides, you were just 'looking for the restrooms' right? What would you want to stay down here for?"

Glares were my answer. I sighed, how on earth was I going to convince a group of murders, con-men, and lousy tippers to do the decent thing? That's when it hit me.

"In that case," not a second later I reached into my pocket and pulled out my iPod. Before they could even ask, I snapped a rather incriminating picture of the villains, "There. If you refuse to leave, I'll be forced to show this to Mickey. You might be able to 'fool' me with your bathroom excuse, but the Mouse is a harder nut to crack."

"Not if you're dead," Scar countered.

"Oh you think I have to go upstairs to show Mickey," I smirked, " That's the beauty of technology. All I have to do is push one little button, and this picture will be sent to him before you even have the chance to lift a claw. So, not matter what, this could only end badly for you. Worse if you kill me." This last part was complete and total bull since, 1, I didnt have Mickey's number, and 2, the House of Mouse wasn't exactly known for its wifi. Anyway, the point was to spook the villains and I doubted they knew much about modern technology to begin with.

"Plus if you leave now, I promise to delete the picture," I added.

Sure enough, this shut them up for a good minute or so. They tried to hide it, but I could still see them shooting uncertain looks at each other, then back at my thumb which hovered just above the home button. The doubt was there. With a final look, Hades turned and said, "Which way to the entrance?"

* * *

Thank God, the door wasn't too far. The moment the last of the villains left the backstage area, I closed the door to the basement (taking extra care apply the push-in lock, just in case) and rushed to the front doors. When I reached the lobby, two thoughts crossed my mind. The first was, 'Wow there's a lot of snow outside'. The second, however was a bit more troubling.

'Why are the villains trying to break down the door?'

"Hey!" I cried as I jogged over, "What are you doing? You'll break the door!"

"That's the idea," Shenzi retorted, "Door's locked."

My face paled, "Locked? It can't be locked!" I took hold of the door handle and tugged with all my might. I even pushed just to make sure. The Hyena was right. The doors were locked tight. But why would they be? Mickey only ever locks up, but only when everyone else is gone. Unless...

'Oh, no!'

"Move, you fools!" Maleficent parted the group, shoving both halves to either side of the doors. She backed up and readied her staff, muttering insults all the while. Her staff glowed a bright green. Then, in an instant so fast it made the bat of an eye look sluggish, the evil fairy let loose a powerful blast of magic. It crashed against the glass doors then spread in a rush of green flames. Unfortunately, there was no damage. After a second, the flames dissipated until there was nothing left. This took Maleficent aback. There was a moment of disbelief before her face melded into a look of pure indignation. She tried again, and yet again after her previous effort yielded the same result.

"How can this be?" she pounded the end of her staff against the floor. It was a move meant to intimidate, but with the thick carpeting of the lobby she looked frustrated at best.

"Relax, babe," Hades formed a ball of fire in his hand, "let a pro show ya how it's done." Like Maleficent before him, Hades's attack fizzled out mere seconds after impact. When his second try fell flat, Ursula shoved him out of the way and had a go. After she failed, Jafar had his turn, then went Facilier. When the Shadowman's attack didn't break down the door, an agreement was my left I saw Kaa tense up.

"Braccccce yourself," he said and coiled up into a ball. I blinked.

All five Villains stood in a line opposite the offending door. They each readied their own brand of magic before combining them. The result was a sphere of blinding purple light. They held it there, feeding it as much power as they could. My worry doubled, then tripled.

"A-are you sure this is a good ide-" the magic was loosed before I finished my sentence. It sped forward and slammed against the door, which bucked a bit under the force but did little more. This time, however, instead of the attack puttering out, it rebounded and was sent back to the lobby, where it ricocheted off a wall and flew back towards us. Everyone scattered. I made for Daisy's reservations desk and ducked for cover. The stray attack flew through the air, changing direction each time it hit a wall until, finally, it caught Pain in the rear end and propelled him into the dining room.

There was a stretch of time when the lobby was still before everyone emerged. I poked my head out from behind the desk.

" Magic proofed," muttered Ursula. I fought back a mirthless chuckle. They couldn't have figured that out ten blasts ago?

"Where's that blasted Mouse when you need him?" Hook straightened his feathered hat.

"Prob'ly gone by now," Facilier said. He flicked a bit of dust from his shoulder.

"Ya mean we're stuck here?" Panic, well, panicked.

"You!" Maleficent spun and pointed the end of her staff in my direction. "Your device," she said, "use it to contact Mickey. Tell him that we demand to be let out at once!"

My face flushed. You know that feeling you get when your parents find out you lied about who really broke their priceless antique tea set? The one given to them by their favorite grandmother on her death bed? Now double that and multiply by a thousand. Yeah.

"You mean my iPod?" I took an unconscious step back, towards the dining room.

Maleficent gave me a nod that was, somehow, both vicious and sarcastic, "Yes, whatever it's called."

I was so beyond screwed, and I knew it, too. There I was, locked and snowed into a building with a bunch of Disney's darkest. To add to that, I was caught in a lie and these people were not going to be at their most tolerable when they found out. Yeah, sure. I could lie again. But what would I say? The trick may have worked before, but that's when I thought I'd be out of the club soon after. Now I was stuck with them. Discovery was inevitable.

I stood silent thinking, 'So. This is how I die,' when Maleficent snapped, "Well?"

I let out a pitiful giggle, "Heh heh, y'know? You guys are gonna think this is hilarious..."

"What?" Jafar's eyes narrowed into the thinnest of slits.

"Y-you know how I said I could send messages with the push of a button? Technically, that's true. But what with the lack of wifi and no number at least-"

"OUT WITH IT!"

The words tumbled out of my mouth, "I can't get help!"

There was a lethal pause. A singular moment in which every little bit of hatred, every tiny molecule of it, was directed at me. I didn't dare move. I didn't dare gulp, blink, or breathe. All I could do was stare. Yes, stare. Right into the faces of the people who would have liked nothing better than to treat me to a slow, tortuous death right then and there.

"Ya really screwed yourself this time, kid," Hades walked slowly forward. He spoke in a steady, deliberate tone that did not leave room for any emotion.

Just as Hades was about to take another step, the lights decided they could not hold out anymore. With a final flicker and a long, deepening whir, they were off.

I took that as my chance.

If not for the fact that I had turned and ran, you wouldnt be reading this story. A fireball hit the spot I had been trembling in not a minute ago. The fire brightened the dining room just long enough for me to see where I was headed.

I booked it for the kitchen. Once inside, I found one of the pantries and ducked into it. Now all I could do was wait.

When you're hiding from your potential murderer(s) in a kitchen closet, time is horribly distorted. What could have been mere seconds might feel like hours, or vice versa. Having said that, I'm not sure how long it was before the villains burst in. My breath caught in my throat. Through the thin slats in the door I could see them looking around, Hades's hair ablaze. I backed up just to be safe.

"She's in here somewhere," Scar said, "I can smell it."

Crap. I turned and grabbed some fruit and cans and stuffed them into my coat pockets. They were going to find me. That much was obvious, but I wasn't going to make it easy for them. Not by a long shot.

The villains spread out and searched while Scar, his hyenas, and Kaa tried to catch my scent. I shivered. They knew my friggin' scent.

The search went on for a short while, until all five animals froze. In unison, they turned their heads to the pantry door. I gripped my makeshift weapons and shut my eyes. Time moved like thick syrup. Footstep resonated through the kitchen as someone moved closer to the door. Then all at once, everything changed.

The door flew open, and I didn't wait to see who opened it. Whoever did was stunned by a can of sardines to the face. I ran out of the pantry throwing fruit at anything that moved. The double doors were just a foot away when something wrapped around my ankle. I tried to break my fall but failed, knocking a bin of silverware to the floor in the process.

Thinking quick, I grabbed a fork, turned, and stabbed at what held me. With a cry of pain and outrage from Ursula, I was released. I bolted up and made for the door again. This time, a burst of green flame hit the floor in front of me, throwing me back into the kitchen. I switched direction.

Things were looking bad. The kitchen, as roomy as it was, was full of villains, slimming down my chance at escape. Already, I was just about cornered. The only thing that separated me from them was a long counter. To make matters worse, I was out of ammo. Desperate, I flung open the cabinets behind me in an attempt to find something, anything, to help. There was nothing but sacks of flour too big for me to lift. I was done for.

"Nowhere to run, child!" Jafar raised his staff. With an evil smile to end all evil smiles, he sent a bolt of magic in my direction.

By some miracle, he either missed or I had better reflexes than I thought. Instead of blowing yours truly to bits, he hit the bags of flour. They practically exploded and sent a thick cloud of the powdery substance everywhere. I coughed as some of it seeped into my lungs. The flour almost blinded me. A light switched in my head. If I couldnt see, neither could the villains. I could hear them hacking from somewhere in the cloud.

I made for the double doors, but risked a moment to grab a mustard bottle from another counter. This time, I made it out and noticed the room wasn't as dark as it had been. Some emergency floodlights had switched on. How they were working, I had no idea, and I didn't intend to stick around and find out.

I needed to hide, but with all the flour I was trailing I'd be found in seconds. That's when I remembered my coat. My shoes, pant bottoms and head were covered, but I could wipe some flour off using the inside of my coat. After hiding under a table, I did just that. It only took a few seconds. When I was finished, only the most stubborn flour remained. It was a lot, mind you, but at least it didn't leave a trail.

Once I checked to make sure the coast was clear, I left the table, leaving my soiled coat behind. The plan was perfect. The timing, however, was not.

"There she is!" If it weren't for the fact that my life was in very real danger, the sight before me would have been hysterical. The villains had burst through the doors of the kitchen looking like they had slept in a junk heap. It was a sight short lived. With a cry of rage, Hades launched another fireball and I ducked back behind the table.

What happened next was so chaotic, it can scarcely be described. The villains all came at me, and I ran but was not fast enough to escape the vicious jumble. Scar clawed at me once, but just managed to tear the edge of my shirt. I squirted mustard into the eyes of anyone that got too close. Someone, I think it was Cruella, had taken a carton of eggs and tossed them into the fight in hopes of getting revenge for her ruined fur coat. Her aim, however, was horrible and the eggs ended up splattering against the back wall. Maleficent, Facilier, and Hades would send magical attacks that surprised even their non-magical comrads, and so were forced to stick to simple blasts of magic. One blast almost hit me head on, but at the last minute Iducked and it slammed into Ursula instead, who turned around and hit Hades with some mayo. That's when things started to get interesting.

Hades tried to retaliate, but failed and nailed Facilier, who in turn whacked Maleficent. The fight was no longer just about trying to waste me. It had become a free-for-all. Everyone was fighting someone and nobody was spared. Tables were flipped, more food was thrown; all in all, the fight was messy in more ways than one. Insanity aside, there were three distinct events.

The first was my iPod slipping out of my pocket. I gasped in horror and waited for the screen to smash against the floor. Instead, something worse happened. Jafar caught it before it hit the ground. In anger I managed to hit him over the head with my shoe, the mustard having been used up after blocking a rather nasty attack from Gaston. The sorcerer's hand flew up to touch the sore spot on his head. As a result, he let go of his staff. I don't know why I did, but I dove for it and snatched it up as fast as possible. That's when the fighting stopped.

Neither I nor him really noticed. We were both too wrapped up in what the other had stolen to realize, or even care. Jafar raised my music player over his head, I did the same with his staff. In unison we both yelled to the other, "Put it down!"

* * *

And so, dear reader, we are back to where our tale had begun. On one side stood Riley, the snake staff held above her head, arms ready to swing down at a moment's notice.

Across from our ragged heroine, stood Jafar with the iPod held in a similar manner. The rest stood frozen, unsure whether to destroy the girl, and possibly the staff along with it, or aid their colleague in retaking his stolen property.

"Put that down, child," Jafar glared, his voice held an edge that sounded characteristic of the animal on his staff, "You've no idea of the power that it possesses."

"Gimme the iPod first," Riley answered. She tried to hold her voice steady, lest it quake with both fear and anger.

"Ha! As if you deserve it," he sneered, "If not for you, we wouldn't be in this situation, you lying brat!"

"You're pinning this on me? YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELVES!" The girl cried with such force even she was surprised, "Yeah, I lied. But you were the ones down in the stupid basement, doing who knows what in the first place! If not for YOU we wouldn't be stuck here to begin with!" With her outburst the staff charged and sent a wild bolt of uncontrolled magic across the room. Riley jumped in surprise, but still kept her grip on the staff. All eyes soon traveled to the smoking pile of ashes that was once an overturned table. A frightened curiosity took hold of her as she aimed the snake's head at a now empty egg carton. Hades knew what she was thinking at once.

"Kid!" he yelled, but the girl took no heed. The egg carton met the same fate as the table. This time she glanced at the staff and pointed it warily forward.

"I'm gonna ask you again," she said, "Give. Me back. My iPod."

Now the Villains were alarmed. They had to get the staff out of the child's hands, but of they lunged at her it could very well have been the death of them. No one wanted to be reduced to a pile of ash, accidentally or otherwise.

Without so much as a word, a horrified Jafar inched forward and extended the iPod to Riley. She set wide eyes upon her prized possession. Instead of accepting the trade off, however, she clutched the staff and aimed it at him, "I'll give it back only if you all stop trying to kill me."

"Done."

With that, the girl handed back the staff, reclaimed her music player, and walked away.

* * *

Hours had passed since the standoff in the dining room. In that time not much transpired. I did worry that a second attempt at whatever they were doing in the basement would happen, but it seemed that the villains had abandoned that project, for now anyway. The villains at on one end of the room and I did my best to keep out of sight. Even though they had agreed not to kill me, it didn't mean the villains weren't still mad about being tricked. For the first few hours they all sat in a huddle, whispering and sending me looks that we're not comforting in the least.

Every once in a while, someone went to check on the weather. Once, Captain Hook tried to pick the lock and came back with a dented hook. Things went on much in the same way for the night. The only thing that did change, however, was the temperature. With the heater powered off, the club grew colder by the hour. Soon I was back in my flour covered coat and still I shivered. The villains who weren't used to such weather or covered in fur wrapped themselves in tablecloths. God, I hated the cold. At one point, I considered angering Hades just to provide a little more heat. In the end, common sense won and the Greek god was left alone.

About a half hour later, the club was still freezing. But by then something else had settled in: Boredom. I sat alone by the stage, alternating between dozing off or tapping at my ipod, while the villains had scattered amongst themselves. Ursula, Maleficent, and Cruella claimed a spot near the kitchens. Hook, Hades, Jafar, and Facilier were grouped together across from them. Scar and the Hyenas had gone off towards the lobby leaving Kaa to skulk up in the catwalks. Last but not least, Gaston reclined back in a chair, one foot up on a table. He had gotten a small kitchen knife and occupied himself by throwing it at the table top.

Thunk, pull, thunk, pull, thunk, pull. Over and over. It wasn't so bad at first, but after about ten minutes of the continuous noise, my nerves began to wear.

Thunk, pull, thunk, pull.

Now, Facilier aimed annoyed glances at Gaston.

Thunk, pull, thunk, pull.

Cruella rubbed her temples and Ursula pinched the bridge of her nose.

Thunk, pull, thunk, pull.

Hades's hair flared orange in time to the irritating rhythm.

Thunk, pull.

"Enough!" Maleficent snatched the knife away from Gaston and flung it away. Murmurs of relief and appreciation sounded from around the room. The french hunter, though, was not pleased.

"You could have tried to be a bit subtler," he grumbled.

"We were. It just didn't make it through your thick skull," came the rejoinder from the Shadowman.

The dining room settled back into uncomfortable silence. At length, Hades heaved a massive sigh and started igniting and blowing out his thumb.

"Oh, don't start, Hades!" Ursula shot him a warning glance.

"Start what, exactly?" Hades's question sounded more like a dare, "I'm not starting anything. If I recall, you started this little chat."

"You should already know," said the Sea Witch, " Unless of course those flames of yours have chared what little brains you may have had!"

"Care to say that to my face, blubber butt?"

"What. did. you. say?"

"You heard me, tuts."

Ursula stood with a cry of outrage while Hades smirked and did the same.

"Another fight?" groaned Scar, who came trudging from the lobby, "Don't you people know how to do anything else?"

"Can it, fluffy!"

Scar only glared and began grooming his forepaw.

"Ugh, must you do that here?" Cruella rolled her eyes and muttered, "Animals. Disgusting creatures, the lot of them. Their furs are their only redeemable quality."

Gaston gave a grin in agreement. Scar's claws extended at the comment, a growl sounded in his throat.

"Ironically," he said, " I find the same could be said about humans. That is, if they had any redeemable qualities."

A manic laugh sounded from Ed as Banzai chuckled, "Hey, good one boss!"

"Yes, I also found it quite witty," Jafar chimed in, "Though it would be much more impressive to see you lot show some original thought for once." He gave a look at the Hyenas.

"Us?" Shenzi cried. And so on it went, each of the villains bickering about one thing or another. The sudden animosity brought about by the long period of confinement and boredom. While there were many quarrels, each over a different stupidity, the reasons for them were the same. There just wasn't anything better to do. Only bits and pieces of arguments managed to be heard among the mad jumble.

"-if it weren't for that stupid shadow of yours-"

"No one thinks up comebacks like Gaston!"

"-Waterlogged hag!"

-dare insult me? The mistress of all evil-"

"-if I sliced ye with me hook, who'd be laughing then?"

"I threw a wish in the well

Don't ask me, I'll never tell

I looked to you as it fell

And now you're in my way"

The commotion died down as the arguments were forgotten in favor of finding the source of this new disturbance.

"Hey I just met you

And this is crazy

But here's my number

So call me maybe!"

All eyes turned in my direction as I hummed along to the song blaring out of my music player. I waited a second, then pretended to realize that the room had quieted down.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said to the stupefied characters, "Is this bothering you?"

They all exchanged glances before a disturbed Hades asked, "What IS that?"

"A song," I answered, "It's reeeeaaal catchy. I can listen to it forever. But don't worry, go back to your arguing. I'll just turn up the volume."

Facilier frowned, "Fine, you made your point. Just turn that thing off!"

I did as he said, half relieved myself. I couldn't remember why I had made the mistake of buying that song, but it came in handy. There came an awkward silence.

"So," said Banzi, "What now?"

"Oh let's face it," groaned Hades, "We're bored stiff." I grumbled my agreement along with every one else.

"What are we to do about it?" Maleficent complained, " The doors are still locked and I doubt that silly mouse will come around any time soon."

When no one answered I resigned to looking around. The place was a mess. Remnants of the earlier brawl were strewn about and the floor was stained in a dozen places. I also remembered the table I managed to vaporize and winced. I hoped Mickey didn't notice the abscence of table 42. With a sigh, I got up and made my way backstage.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna clean," I said.

Once backstage, I found a small broom closet with tons of cleaning supplies. Stationary mops and brooms, a vaccum, rags, sprays and sponge were among them. The kitchen would be the hardest to clean, so I decided to start in there. with that in mind, I pulled out the broom, a spray bottle, and a couple of rags. With the power gone, the vacuum was a dud and there would have been no water for the mop.

To the kitchen I went and nearly had a heart attack at all the flour I would have to take care of. After a moment, I decided not to dwell on it and went at the white powder with the broom. Just sweeping up took me the better part of an hour, and that didn't include what had settled over the counters and cupboards. During the cleaning process, i was surprised to find Goofy and Gus had forgotten their deck of cards. I sorted the deck and put it back into its small paper box. At long last I managed to sweep all the flour into a sizable pile in the corner and rid the kitchen of food stains. Now for the dining room.

The sight that met me when I opened those doors is one I will not soon forget. At first I blinked, closed the door and reopened it, sure that what I had just seen had to have been some sort of hallucination. When I looked out again I was shocked to find that what I was seeing was indeed real.

Boredom, I realized, was more powerful than I had thought. The proof of this was before me in the form of villains cleaning the dining room. Already, a lot of the mess was taken care of. I stared at the room then turned a questioning gaze to the dastardly toons. Before I could say anything, Hades spoke.

"Now don't get all mushy on us, kid. We're not doing this for you."

I shot him a look and grumbled, "Thanks," then took one of the rags and pitched in. Pretty soon, it became evident that house cleaning was not something they were too familiar with. How they managed to clean most of the room the way they were going about things is beyond me. What really drove this home was when I saw Maleficent try to use a feather duster to remove egg yolk from the wall.

"What are you doing?" I asked, knowing better than to let my laughter escape. The dark fairy stopped what she was doing.

" If you wanna clean a wall, you don't use that," I pointed to the duster.

She narrowed her eyes and answered, "I am unused to such menial labor. It is beneath me."

"Uh-huh," I rolled my eyes, "listen," I took the duster from her and handed her cleaning solution and a rag, "Try this. Spray some of that onto the rag then wiped the wall."

When she couldn't figure out how to work the spray bottle, I sighed and demonstrated, "If you don't know how to use cleaning supplies why not just use your magic?"

At this, she froze and sent me a chilling look, "Tell me child, do I seem like a fairy godmother to you in any sense of the word? My powers are too great to be wasted on such an ordinary task! It would be an insult to black magic to use them for anything but destruction and the pursuit of power!"

"Okay, okay!" I said, "Calm down. Just a question." I left to find another task and made a mental note to never suggest magic again.

Cleaning the rest of the club was simple enough. When I wasn't taking care of mustard stains on the carpet, I gave much needed pointers to the clueless toons. It was the first time I had any interaction with the villains that didn't involve taking orders or fighting, and it was strange on a variety of levels. We even got to talking. Talking! It was forced and awkward, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Though it was relatively peaceful, that didn't stop Gaston from complaining about doing "women's work", to which I responded by spraying bleach onto the back of his shirt when he wasn't looking. Still, sexist comments aside, the interaction that went on was neutral. What was most unexpected came after the cleaning was done and I put the supplies back into the backstage closet.

I walked back to find the villains all sat quietly staring at me. It was unnerving to say the least, and I fought the urge to turn and run backstage.

After a strange pause, Facilier rose and extended his hand, "Temporary truce? Just until we get out of here." Baffled, I looked from his hand to his face.

"Why?" I asked.

The voodoo doctor only shrugged and answered, "Boredom. Take it or leave it, it's no skin off our nose." Well, there wasn't much to say to that.

"Okay. Temporary truce," I said, then looked back to his hand, "But I'm not shaking your hand."

* * *

True to their word, the villains and I coexisted in fairly relaxed tolerance. We sat in the middle of the room, avoiding each others gaze for the first half hour. It was Panic who broke the silence by asking about my iPod.

"Oh, it was a gift from my parents," I said, to which Hades laughed.

" Aww, they decided to give their little Wriggly a present," he said.

"Shut up," I couldn't keep the red from my face, "You proposed a truce, remember?"

"A truce," he countered, "Involves peace. We never said anything about teasing," when I didn't say anything he asked, "So is public humiliation a regular thing with you and your folks?"

I sent him a look, "You honestly expect me to answer that?"

Hades smirked and cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing. I heaved a sigh, " Not really. Only if I do something stupid."

"Whadja do?" asked Shenzi.

"Something stupid," I shifted my weight and crisscrossed my legs, "Alright, my turn. Why is it just you guys?"

"Usss?" Kaa raised his head a bit off of his coils.

"Yeah, like, what about The Evil Queen or Shere Kahn or Frollo? I never see any of them over at table 13."

"That's because it's exclusive, child," Ursula explained, "You don't expect us to dine with just anyone, do you?"

It took a lot of self control not to blurt out, "But you let Gaston and Kaa in! There's no way your standards are that high!" Instead I just nodded and moved on, "What were you really doing down in the basement?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Scar unsheathed his claws in warning, a message I got very clear. We had decided to tolerate each other for now, but that didn't mean anything. Once the storm blew over and Mickey freed us, things would go back normal. I still had to be careful.

"Fair enough," I said then searched for another question. At taking a quick glance across the room, a question came to mind that had bothered me since I was a kid, "Ok, I'm sorry but, Jafar, what is up with your beard?"

The sorcerer scowled at my question while the other villains roared with laughter.

"Whatever do you mean?" his voice was unamused and monotone.

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Well it's... Y'know..."

"He grooms it," Hook smirked, "Every night with a pair of scissors and a comb."

"Yes," Jafar glared at the pirate, "The same way you polish your hooks every night."

"Of course," Hook straightened, "I take pride in me hook! It is what strikes fear into me enemy. And besides, It has to be ready for when I capture that troublesome Pan! Ye don't expect me to run him through with a rusty hook, it's bad form."

Facilier gave a nod, "You're right. In fact, I'm ain't expectin you to run him through at all." This sent everyone on a new round of laughter. Now it was Hook's turn to frown. And so it went. The tension of enemies began to lessen until only a little remained. We continued the questioning, though not everything was answered, mind you, until both sides ran out things to ask.

By that time, the blizzard outside had calmed to nothing more than a heavy snowfall. As a result of the storm, there were mounds of snow everywhere, but it wouldn't be long before a crews would arrive to take care of the problem. After that, we only had to wait for Mickey to come.

Remembering the Cards Goofy had left behind, I got them from the kitchen. We played everything from Jim Rummy to Crazy eights. In return for teaching them how to play Mafia (which they really got a kick out of) they taught me poker. I was secretly glad there was no real money on the table, as I would have been in debt for years to come. It was during the third round of spoons that there came a loud sound and, with it, the return of electricity. Not long after that, the moment we had waited so long for arrived. It came in the middle of a game of Go Fish of all things.

I studied my hand for a moment before asking Cruella, "So, you got any threes?"

"Go fish, dahling!"

To the deck my hand went and pulled six cards total before I came across a stupid three, "There." I wrinkled my nose at the amount of cards I my hand, "Well, there's always next round."

At this, Hades chuckled and clapped me on the back, "Don't quote me on this or anything, but you're alright, kid."

"You're not too bad yourself," I smirked, "For a torch-headed sociopath."

For a moment he scowled, then his expression changed to a twisted smile, "Fine, I'll remember that the next time I decide to leave a tip."

My smirk disappeared in an instant, "Please. Since when have you left a decent tip in th-"

"Riley?" At hearing Mickey's voice the dining room froze and I turned to look towards the lobby, "Ya in here?" Mickey's shadow came first, and behind it the mouse it belonged to ambled in. At the sight of him, everyone jumped and rushed to the doors. Poor Mickey barely had to time to react to the rush of people. As the villains ran through the double doors, the mouse pulled me aside. After looking me over from head to toe he asked, "What happened?"

"There was a mishap and we were locked in," I explained nervously.

"A mishap? You're covered in flour!"

"Oh, that," I said, looking at my still soiled coat, "It's a long story. Kitchen's clean, though."

Mickey wore an expression that was a mixture of confusion and concern, "The kitchen?"

"Yeah," I said, "but like I said, it's clean."

"Uh-huh," Mickey looked back at the lobby just as Hook slipped out, "What about the villains?"

"The villains? I found them in the props basement."

"The props basement?!"

"Yeah... They, uh, got lost on their way to the bathrooms."

An hour later, Mickey emerged from his dressing room With the hint of a headache. He had made a few calls and cancelled the show for the night, but that was not the source of his anxiety. Try as he might, he still couldn't piece together the fragments of the story Riley had given him. He shook his head and made his way to the lobby. Perhaps he'll never really know what went on during the blizzard, and if he was being honest with himself, he didn't want to know. Mickey made it halfway through the dining room when he stop and turned towards the tables. Something didn't look quite right. Mickey stared for a second longer before rubbing his face in his hand and continuing on his way. He could have sworn the club was missing a table.

* * *

**It's DONE! FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST! Thank God Almighty, I am free at last! It's been, what five months? Dang. I'm so sorry you guys! There's a lot I wanna say, but it's late and I'm tired.**

**Thanks to Galamatias for all your help and everything else! You rock! If you haven't already, Check out her story Somewhere in Between! It is a work of comic fan fiction genius. Do it now!**

**If you haven't seen my profile, I've started college in the past week which, unfortunately, cuts into my writing time. Updates will be longer, but I will try to make them come faster than this last one.**

**Lastly, I noticed the awesome new cover feature for stories now and think it's a great idea. If anyone is interested and it's not too much to ask, would anyone like to make a cover for the story? I suck at drawing and would love to see what youd come up with. Pm me if interested!**

**With that, I bid you a fond farewell. Thanks again for reading and don't forget to review! Feedback makes writing better!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Riley and the oc's. **

Chapter 11

Valentine's day. The one day out of the year where couples can act mushier than oatmeal and it's seen as completely acceptable. Of course, the House of Mouse was no exception. In fact, starting from February first the place was the very definition of the holiday. All of the table cloths were switched from white to pinks and reds, and everywhere you looked there sat a couple. Backstage Mickey and Minnie, and Donald and Daisy were getting into the spirit of things. Even Max walked in one day with a self-satisfied look.

"You look happy," I mentioned later that night.

"Maybe that's because I am," he smirked. I answered by snapping him with my rag, "Ow!"

"What's got you in such a good mood, then? Got a date with Roxanne?" I teased.

"Maaaaybe," Max flinched when he saw me winding up the rag, "Ok ok! Yes! Geeze."

"So I take it you'll be taking Valentine's off?" I unwrapped the rag and finished up cleaning the table top.

"Yup!" Max picked up a rag and joined in, "You got any plans?"

"Yeah. I'll be spending the night with my first love."

Max stopped wiping his own table top, "Really? Who might that be?"

I moved over to a new table, "My job."

While it was nice to see people in such loving moods, it was definitely a bittersweet feeling. As you've probably guessed I didn't exactly have a valentine of my own. I could only be thankful that I had to work the night of my school's Valentine's dance. This was precisely my train of thought one afternoon while pulling some books out of my locker. That's when _it_ happened.

Having freed my Science book from the clutter of folders, books, and gym clothes, I slammed shut the locker. Imagine my surprise at seeing a face revealed from behind the metal door.

"Hey," it was Connor, a boy from my grade that was considered a god. He was one of the 'it men' on campus, one of the poster children for grades, sports, and looks. All the teachers and staff loved him, and it was no surprise that more than a few girls had their eyes on him. In short, he was a regular Star-Child. So naturally, I was wondering why in the world he was standing by my locker.

"Uh, hey," I answered. I looked around before resting my eyes back on him, "Did you need something?"

Connor gave a half smile and leaned against the lockers, "Yeah, a date to the dance on Saturday." My brow rose at his answer. He couldn't seriously be asking me for a date. Could he? "You in?"

"A-are you being serious?" I couldn't help the slight blush I felt rising in my cheeks.

"Yeah why not?" He answered as he pushed himself off the locker, "I always thought you were pretty cool. I, uh, just never had the nerve to ask you out before." I have no idea how he could have come to that conclusion since I barely ever spoke to the guy. Still he was in four of my classes. Maybe he did notice me. After a beat he shrugged then asked, "So, what do you say? Is it a date?"

I paused for a moment, "I have to work that night."

"So?" he said, "Just ask for the night off."

When I didn't answer, he smirked, "C'mon. One night won't kill you."

I smiled, "Ok, fine. If my boss gives me the night off, It's a date."

"Cool," said Connor then in a lower voice added, "I'll see you at the dance."

* * *

Cloud nine could not even come close to the cloud I walked on that afternoon. I had smile that wouldn't come off no matter how hard I tried. My stomach filled with butterflies whenever Saturday crossed my mind, which was often. Funny thing was that I never saw myself as one of those girls who would lose their minds because of some boy, but now that I knew how good it felt to be asked out I couldn't help it! Of course my parents noticed right away when I got home. True to form they asked me all about it and I was more than happy to tell. My mom beamed at the news while my dad, happy though he was, had started on the overprotective father track. Having heard the news Leo scrunched up his face and made a remark or two about how girls were weird.

My date-induced high carried over to the Club that night as well. Within minutes of stepping into the club, Minnie and Daisy could already tell something was up and that it was love. Once I had told them they both gushed and gave me congrats. That was the day that I realized the word travels fast in Disney, because when I stepped backstage to ask Mickey for Satuday off, he already knew what I was about to ask.

"Lemme guess," Mickey said, "You wanna take Valentine's day off?" Normally something like that would have had me kinda freaked, I was not in a right state of mind that day. Before I could answer, he laughed and said, "Go ahead!"

"So you don't mind if I take the night off?" I asked Mickey.

"Not at all!" he said, "Ya work hard around here. Go out and have a swell time!" And just like that, I was officially going to the dance. Even during the service club patrons noticed my good mood, especially Tiana's best friend, Charlotte Le Buff. Unlike the rest of the tables, she didn't accept "I've just been having a good day" as an answer. She wore me down until I finally caved.

"Oh, that sounds positively romantic!" Charlotte squealed after I told her the news, "Goin'out dancin' on Valentines! Dja have any idea what you're gonna wear?"

My pen stopped mid-letter. Wear? I hadn't thought of that at all, "No, not really," I said, "I'll probably just pick something from the mall back home."

"The mall?" She made a face that looked like I had suggested rummaging through a dump, "No, no, no darlin' that won't do! You gotta look absolutely stunnin' for your prince that night. You are so lucky to have me around!"

"Okay…" I went back to scribbling down the order, "But where am I supposed to find a dress then?"

Charlotte thought for a beat before jumping up and saying, "I have the most brilliant idea! Saturday morning I'll meet you right outside the club, then you and I are gonna make you look fabulous! We'll get your hair done up and find you a perfect dress! Everyone eye in the dance will be right on you!"

"Oh, uh, that's very nice of you but-"

"It's settled then! Be outside the club at nine o' clock sharp. Oo! This is so excitin'!" She gave yet another squeal and I backed away slightly. Her squeals were causing a few of the nearby tables to stare.

Unfortunately for me, one of the nearby tables was table thirteen. Of course, I didn't quite notice that until I walked by on my way to the kitchens. That's when I heard Hades snicker, "So, Wriggly's got a date. Let's hope for his sake the poor kid's blind."

I turned and smirked, "You're just bitter because Maleficent turned you down." It was true, too. At a separate table halfway across the club sat Maleficent with Jafar. I had overhead Hades' attempt two days prior while taking out the trash. Before he could erupt in a ball of flames, I made my way to the kitchen.

Back at the table Hades sat staring at his plate, both fists clenched at either side. The other villains either tried to hold in laughter or spoke quietly amongst themselves. From somewhere to his left Kaa started to say, "Ssshe has a point-"

"Shut Up."

* * *

The rest of the week flew by and before I knew it, I was standing outside the darkened club waiting for Charlotte to arrive. It was already nine fifteen and I was starting to get worried. I decided to wait around another five minutes before-

"Hey there, darlin'!" An old, glamorous car rolled up in front of the club. Inside were Charlotte at the wheel and Tiana sitting shotgun, "Sorry I'm late, it took forever to convince the others the car was safe."

"The others?" The back windows rolled down to reveal Jasmine, Ariel, Rapunzel, Snow White, Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella. My eyes widened. How did Charlotte manage to cram eight people into one car?

"Well what are you waiting for, hop in!" she cried and I opened the door. The inside of the car was much bigger than the outside suggested. It sat everyone comfortably. I was so focused on the unusual dimensions of the car I didn't realize the others, accept for Ariel, wore worried looks until it was too late.

"What's wro-aahhhhh!" Charlotte floored the accelerator and we were off! It took me a moment to climb back onto the seat between Belle and Ariel, "Does she always drive like this?"

"Yeah!" Ariel said as the car banked dangerously to the right, "Isn't it fun?"

I gripped the seat for dear life, "Fun...Uh-huh. So where are we going?"

Tiana had turned to face the backseat, "We're stoppin' by Aurora's cottage to find dresses for tonight."

"Cool!" I answered, then nearly collided with Belle as we took another turn.

We drove along in silence for a few minutes and I took my first good look at Toon Town. In the months that I had worked at the House of Mouse, I had never explored any further than where the club stood. It was like any other regular town I guess, if most regular towns were animated and the local residents were anthropomorphic animals. What really was interesting to see were signs that stood at varying street corners that pointed in the direction of other lands. That's when I remembered what Mickey had told me when I first started working about all the different gates that led to other worlds. Just as the thought crossed my mind, the car barreled by a street corner that led to a giant circus tent.

"That's where Dumbo lives," Belle explained. She must have seen me staring at it. We passed another 'dead end' road with an oriental door frame, "And over there is how you get to Mulan's. Aurora's kingdom isn't too far ahead." Just as she said, it wasn't. The next minute, the car took a fast turn to the left and screeched down a road leading to a smaller version of Aurora's castle. In seconds we reached the other side.

"Lottie," Tiana looked over at her best friend, "I think you can slow the car down."

"We're fine!" the blond waved a hand, "I got everythin'-"

"LOOK OUT!" Cinderella's yell brought Charlotte's attention back to the road. The girl's eyes tripled in size as a giant tree grew even bigger with each moment. In a second she slammed on the breaks and then we skidded to a halt mere inches from the trunk.

Charlotte turned around with a smile, "Told y'all we were fine!"

* * *

Aurora's old cottage was just a short walk through the forest, so it wasn't very long before we were being asked questions by the three good fairies. It wasn't long before they had us standing while enchanted tapes measured us from head to toe. When that was done, the real magic began. Bolts of fabric came sailing in from the upstairs along with scissors and pins and needles. With just a flick of their wands, the fairies had the fabrics unwind just enough material to make each of the dresses. My dress required the least, since most of the others had asked for long, flowing gowns that swept the floor. It wasn't until halfway through the dressmaking that I realized something strange. All of the material was white. When all three fairies were preoccupied with the princesses on the other side of the room, I turned and asked Snow White about it.

"Oh, you'll see," she giggled and left it at that. Not much longer after that I did see. Oh did I see! The reason for the white fabric was for the color battle that ensued once the last of the seams had been stitched. Every color under the sun was shouted and flung about. Colors from fuchsia to periwinkle to puce to burgundy stained the delicate fabrics before being changed again by either Flora or Merryweather. Poor Fauna sat back and watched her sisters fight over the same thing for the hundredth time. Eventually, the spell-casting gave way to a yelling match and we were all but forgotten. That's when Fauna came up to us one by one and asked us our color of choice before fixing the outfits one final time, then letting us out the door. I tried to stop and ask her how much I owed her, but she merely shook her head and said, "We don't charge, dear. We make dresses for the love of it. Now have a good day." With one last thanks, I slipped out the door and jogged to catch up with the others.

* * *

The rest of the day was, thankfully, calmer. When we reached the car a second time, Tiana insisted on driving much to everyone's relief, and Ariel's disappointment. From there we were off to Corona, Rapunzel's kingdom, to get our hair done. Crossing that 'gate' as Mickey called it was a completely new experience. CGI animation took some time to get used to. It was a weird combination of real life and Toon Town. It took me so long to get used to, in fact, that I wasn't completely there until minutes before leaving for our next stop, Cinderella's kingdom. Needless to say that's where we found shoes.

All the while I couldn't help slipping into daydreams when we weren't laughing or joking. I wondered how everything would go. Would he ask to dance right away, or would we just talk for a bit? I quickly decided that didn't matter. Maybe he would wait until a slow song came on. Well, it was a Valentine's dance. Would all the songs be slow songs? For once, I hoped so. And if I was lucky, maybe, just maybe, he'd walk me home at the end of the night. Then we'd talk about how much fun we had before he leaned in and…The prospect of a kiss was enough to make me smile.

It was late afternoon by the time we finished gathering 'supplies'. Once more we piled into the car and drove over to Prince Eric's castle to get ready. At the end of it all, I stood in front of a full sized mirror. I smiled, I looked perfect!

My dress was everything I could have hoped for! The light purple fabric was silky and decorated with small beading along the hem and bust. It even came with a scarf to wrap around my elbows. The Coronans did an amazing job with my hair, curling it slightly and sticking little flowers in the back. Last and not least came the shoes. Say what you will about women and their footwear but I was sincerely in love with mine! They were silver heels somewhere between sandal and slip on. Unable to contain myself I twirled in front of the mirror.

"Oh, darlin' you look amazin!" Charlotte came up behind me in her own giant pink gown, "That boy won't know what hit him!"

I gave a small laugh, "Thanks to you, all of you. Thanks for inviting me along!"

"Honey, it was our pleasure! Now run along! It's gettin' dark soon," she said.

"Wish me luck!" I said, "And thanks again for everything, Charlotte. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!" The princesses waved and echoed the well-wish. And just like that, I was off!

* * *

The dance was being held in the school gym, where else? By the time I got there, everything was set up and off to a great start. The lights were turned down save for a few colored spotlights aimed at a disco ball. I combed the crowd for Connor then went over to the punch bowl when I couldn't find him. Taking a cup, I looked back out into the crowd but still didn't find any sign of the boy.

_He must be late_, I thought. For a moment I debated texting him, but thought it would seem a bit desperate. With that in mind, I resigned to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Finally, after about my sixth helping of the warm fruit punch I caught a glimpse of light eyes and blond hair. I downed what remained of the drink and crossed the dance floor and flustered chaperones.

"Connor!" I called when I was within earshot. He didn't turn around. Figuring it was the loud music, I moved in until his shoulder was in tapping distance.

"Connor," I said giving him a light tap. This time he did turn around.

"Oh. Hey," he said.

"Hey! I've been looking for you all night. Did you just get here?"

Before he had a chance to answer three guys bounded in from the crowd. I recognized from the lacrosse team.

"Brooo!" The guys yelled and ruffled his hair. After they ceased their assault they turned as if noticing me for the first time, "What this chick doing here?"

I shot them a look, "I'm his date. Where else would I be?" The guys stared for a second before bursting out in laughter.

"His _date?_ Aw, man, you didn't tell her?" one of them said. He was barely holding back another round of laughter. Now I was really confused.

"Tell me what?" I asked.

Connor rolled his eyes, "Ronnie-"

"Riley"

"Riley," he was looking less interested by the second, "This was a bet."

Everything in my perception stopped, "A…bet?"

"Yeah," he smirked, "These two losers didn't believe I could get any girl in the school to go out with me. Guess we proved them wrong, huh?"

My face flushed. I opened my mouth but no sound came out.

"I guess I should be thanking you," he continued, "You just won me a hundred bucks."

A hundred bucks. Was that all I was worth to him? For a while I tried to respond but couldn't. I was still trying to keep the room from spinning. Connor reached out to touch my face and I slapped his hand away.

"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that," he said, "It was just a joke. If it makes you feel better, I'll even let you dance with me. How about that? That way you can brag to your little friends on Monday, huh?" The world somehow got darker.

"Dance?" I shook my head, "No. I don't want to dance with you. I don't want to be around you. Hell, I never want to see your smug little face again!"

"Whatever," he shrugged and turned back to his buddies, "It's your loss. I mean, let's face it. I did you a favor. No guy in their right mind would want to ask you out."

This was the last straw. Without even thinking I raised my hand and swiped the back of it across his face. He stumbled back.

I opened my mouth to trash him. I wanted to give him the tongue lashing of the century, wanted him to feel like the pathetic piece of crap that he was. Heck I wanted to send him to hell one-way express! But just before I could I felt the prickle of tears in my eyes. I turned and ran as fast as I could from the gym, hateful words dying before even being said. Halfway out of the school, I stumbled over my heels. It wasn't until later that I realized I lost a shoe, I was in such a state. Having recovered from the spill, I kept sprinting. Where I was going, I had no idea. All I knew was that I had to get as far away from that stupid dance as fast as I could. It wasn't until I slumped against the cold wall that I realized I was sitting outside the House of Mouse.

It was there, in the alley by the dumpster that I lost the little resolve I had left. I was a mess. A crying quivering mess. There I stayed until the thump of the dumpster lid startled me. I turned and found Goofy staring down at me with a confused expression.

"Riley?" he asked. I turned as another sob racked my body, "Ya ok?" I didn't respond. "What happened? A-are ya hurt?" I shook my head. Goofy squatted down next to me and placed a gloved hand on my shoulder. "Ya wanna tell me what happened?"

A few moments passed before I was calm enough to form actual words, "My date… i-it…h-he…he bet on me! It w-was never a… real date." Goofy sighed and patted my shoulder.

"Gawrsh, Riley," he said, "I'm sorry. Why dontcha come inside?" Again I shook my head and stood.

"N-no… I have to…I have to get home," I took a few steps forwards then faced Goofy, "Thanks." The cartoon gave a small smile and a nod. I turned and ran home.

* * *

The next day at the club was one of the hardest since the Parental Incident. I returned the dress to the three good fairies which raised a few questions among the princesses. They all asked, and they all received the same answer, "I don't really wanna talk about it right now." All, that is, except for Lottie, who's constant prying wore me down yet again. When I told her the news, she gave me the most pitiful look, "Oh, darlin', I'm so sorry!" After a beat she looked back at me and added, "Don't worry. You'll find your prince charmin', and when you do you can flaunt him in front of that no good Connor jerk." All I was able to offer up in response was a half-smile and a mumbled "Thanks."

That day I dared not look any of the villains in the face as I took their order. This annoyed them to no end, which led to insults and slurs, none of which had any affect. As horrible as table thirteen was to deal with, it was somehow refreshing to receive some reaction other than pity.

My sour mood persisted through the weekend. It would have lasted through to Tuesday if it wasn't for one small incident that morning.

I trudged to my locker, unwilling to look at anything other than the floor. In a trance, I entered the combination into the lock and swung open the door. When I looked inside I was surprised to find the shoe I had lost. Attached to it was a note scribbled on notebook paper. It read:

_I saw everything that happened at the dance on Saturday. I'm really sorry you had to go through that. No one deserves that. I tried to go after you, but by the time I got out of the gym you were gone. I found your shoe though. Thought you might miss it._

_-P_

I grinned at the note, then stopped and wondered what P stood for. Then it hit me. The shoe was in my locker. Who could have guessed the combination? At the bottom of the note there was another line.

_P.s. I'm not a creeper, I promise! Just convinced the janitor I forgot my combination. Oh, and for the record, I wouldn't have any problem asking you out. _

The last line was successful in making me laugh and tear up at the same time. I looked around. At first the hall seemed empty, then I noticed a lone boy standing farther down the hall stuffing books into his locker. Or so it seemed. After a while it became clear that he was only pretending. He would put in his books, wait a second, then proceed to pull them out again. I chuckled. Maybe my valentine's day wasn't such a failure after all…

_**Yay! Another chapter finished! Alright, first and foremost I am so sorry for taking so long to update! I was originally going to upload a Christmas chapter, but that went south real fast. Second of all, this idea was brought to you by icecreampopstar! She's amazing! If it wasn't for her, you'd still be waiting for an update. Thirdly, this is a really Riley-centric chapter and for that I am sorry. I promise the next chapter will be more character focused. Fourthly, this was all written in a day, so if you see any mistakes let me know and I'll get right on fixing them. Last but not least, as always, review if you want. I love hearing what you think! That's all for now, till next time! – Daydreamer747**_


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